Facts about the print series
4x ‘Amour’ by Maurice Denis
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The series is based on fragments from Maurice Denis’ diary
Almost all of the titles of the prints can be found in Maurice Denis’ diary from 1891. He had recently become engaged to Marthe Meurier, and wrote passionately about his love for her. When he started work on a print series with the theme of love (amour) in 1896, he returned to the poetic passages in his diary.
‘Being in love makes one feel more beautiful. Attitudes are easy and chaste. Life becomes precious, simple; Dusk has the soft glow of old paintings. But it is the heart that beats too quickly, truth to tell’.
Maurice Denis, Attitudes are Easy and Chaste (Les attitudes sont faciles et chastes), 1899
Maurice Denis, Dusk has the Sweetness of Old Painting (Les crépuscules ont une douceur d'ancienne peinture), 1899
Maurice Denis, But it is the Heart that Beats too Fast (Mais c'est le coeur qui bat trop vite), 1899
He spent more than 3 years working on the prints, together with the printer
The trailblazing art dealer Ambroise Vollard commissioned Maurice Denis to make the print series. A series or suite such as this was a prestigious project, and gave artists the chance to show what they were capable of.
Making no less than 13 colour lithographs with exactly the right atmosphere and colour tone was labour-intensive. The creative process – from the initial designs to the final prints – took more than three years. The help of experienced printer Auguste Clot was indispensable. Without his expertise and talent, the series would never have turned out this beautiful.
Preparatory drawing of And it's Her Hands' Caress (Et c'est la caresse de ses mains), Musée Départemental Maurice Denis, Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Trial proof
Final state
‘Amour’ is an ode to a single woman
Amour is Maurice Denis’ Taj Mahal for his wife Marthe; an ode to their love. They got to know each other in October 1890, got engaged in 1891 and married two years later.
By the time Maurice Denis started work on the print series in 1896, Marthe was his wife. She makes all sorts of appearances in Amour: as a young girl, a vision from a dream, kindred spirit, seductive woman or the Blessed Virgin.
Marthe would always remain Denis’ muse, and continued to pose for his artworks. She died at the young age of 48.
Maurice Denis, But it is the Heart that Beats too Fast (Mais c'est le coeur qui bat trop vite), 1899
Photo of Marthe
Prints were all the rage around 1900
During the fin de siècle (1890-1905), Paris was completely under the spell of prints. Particularly young artists like Denis threw themselves enthusiastically into various techniques: etching, woodcuts and lithography.
Especially working in colour gave a new impulse: ‘Colour lithography is gaining importance every day. You’d have trouble finding someone who has not already made such prints, is busy making them, or is going to make them’, wrote an art critic in 1898.
Maurice Denis, On the Pale Silver Sofa (Sur le canapé d'argent pâle), 1899
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, The Grand Theater Box (La grande loge), 1897
