Maurice Denis Biography

Maurice Denis (French, 1870-1943) Major French painter, poster artist and designer, influential with Gauguin in Symbolist and Nabi movements.

"Denis was one of those artists at the turn of the century who hoped for a renewal of life through art. He saw his posters fulfilling the same purpose. A decorative female figure with a quill-pen in her hair hovers over the common people. The pages of the newspaper drop from her hands; the latest news from every corner of the world reaches her by way of telegraph wires. This symbolic interpretation of a technical industry and the ornamental stylization, which is faintly reminiscent of Matisse, are extremely interesting"(Paris 1900 p.78)