BED AND BREAKFAST ARNHEM

Oil on canvas; 73.5 x 100.3 cm.

Maurice Denis was a French painter, designer, lithographer, illustrator, and writer on art theory. Early in his career he was a Symbolist and a member of the Nabis. He was the chief theorist of the group and one of his articles, ‘Definition of Neo-Traditionalism’ (1890), contains a pronouncement that has become famous as an anticipation of the underlying principle of much modern—especially abstract—art: ‘Remember that a picture—before being a war horse or a nude woman or an anecdote—is essentially a flat surface covered with colors assembled in a certain order.’ Denis's early work, strongly influenced by Gauguin, did indeed place great emphasis on flat patterning, but he did not intend to encourage non-representational art, for he was also very much concerned with subject matter; he was a devout Catholic and wanted to bring about a revival of religious painting.

Many of his easel paintings have religious subjects, and in 1899 he carried out his first large-scale religious commission—a mural in the Chapelle de la Sainte-Croix at Vesinet. Numerous others followed, and in 1919 he founded the Ateliers d'Art Sacre with Georges Desvallieres (1861–1950) to provide church decorations of various kinds, including mosaics and stained glass. Typically Denis's style in his religious work was tender and mild, with pale colors and relaxed lines. He also did a good deal of secular decoration, but his most famous work is probably Homage to Cezanne (1900, Mus. d'Orsay, Paris) showing Denis himself and a number of Cezanne's other admirers, including Bonnard, Redon, Serusier, and Vuillard, gathered round a still-life by the master. His best paintings were done early in his career; after about 1900 they became more classical in style (influenced by visits to Italy) and increasingly bland. From 1914 Denis lived in a 17th-century building in Saint-Germain-en-Laye; it has been attractively converted into the Musee du Prieure, housing a fine collection of works by him and his associates.

while you can.

so took this today. there were other shots where i was wearing a short sleeve shirt, but it was so cold! so i had to grab another shirt.

omg i love Imogen heap and evanescence.

those two bands are semi conflicting lol.

i love sunlight.

i didn't have time to make a manipulation today sorry. it will probably be up by friday. maybe. actually probably not hah, but we'll just have to see.

day 31 and im still going strong.