GENERAL DESCRIPTION
This intimate study of a young child was painted by Maurice Denis in preparation for a more formal portrait of the sitter, a girl named Thérèse Watillaux. Working quickly on a makeshift cardboard support recycled from a wall calendar, Denis managed to capture both the infantile pudginess of his sitter's round face and the translucent delicacy of her complexion. His careful description of the emphatic patterns in her dress and the wallpaper in the background is characteristic of Nabi style in the 1890s. This study remained in the artist's family for many decades, and its original matte surface and dry, feathery brushwork remain wonderfully intact.
Excerpt from
Heather MacDonald, DMA Label copy (2014.27) for "Small Worlds: Edouard Vuillard and the Intimate Art of the Nabis," October 2014.
NOTES
Entered current label in text entries.
Found more recent label in Confluence and will add this label to TMS text entries for archival purposes. (1/10/2017)
Nicole Myers, DMA Label copy (2014.27), August 2016. [From PC-2016-EURO-Aug16Rotations-EDITED.docx]
Maurice Denis
French, 1870–1943
Portrait of a Young Girl (Thérèse Watillaux), 1896
Oil on cardboard
Beatrice and Patrick Haggerty Acquisition Fund, gift of Lawrence Milton Davis by exchange, gift of Caren Prothro by exchange, and the Patsy Lacy Griffith Collection, gift of Patsy Lacy Griffith by exchange, 2014.27
This intimate study of a young child was painted by Maurice Denis in preparation for a more formal portrait of the sitter, a girl named Thérèse Watillaux. Working quickly on a makeshift cardboard support recycled from a wall calendar, Denis managed to capture both the infantile pudginess of his sitter’s round face and the translucent delicacy of her complexion. His careful description of the patterns in her dress and the wallpaper in the background is characteristic of the Nabi style in the 1890s. This study remained in the artist’s family for many decades, and its original matte surface and dry, feathery brushwork remain wonderfully intact.
Added information about the catalogue raisonné project into the published references field.
2014 - The work will be included in the forthcoming catalog raisonné currently in preparation by Mme Claire Denis.
As of 2014, the work will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné. For more information see website (www.mauricedenis.com) or contact organizers- Claire Denis and Fabienne Stahl; "Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre de Maurice Denis,"; 4, rue Maurice Denis; F - 78100 Saint-Germain-en-Laye; catalogue@mauricedenis.com; tel/fax- 0033-(0)1 34 51 19 56.
Added as former title (provided by the dealer)- Portrait of a Young Girl (Study for the painting Jeune fille à la poupée (Thérèse Watillaux))
TMS needs to have an OBJECT NAME
Added as former title according to inscription and Kunsthalle Bremen title of completed portrait- Studien fur Mädchen mit Puppe.
Deleted the UMO for the completed portrait at Kunsthalle Bremen because the object number was entered in Piction. (248949181: UMO)
GDocs routing process- this GDoc has not shown the provenance field as of November 16. This was possibly caused by additional text appearing next to the field heading in Evernote. I removed the extraneous text on 11/16 to see if the field will be harvested into the GDoc.
Artist geographies:
born- Granville, Manche
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Denis, Maurice
Cultures
Geography
Process/materials
oil paint
cardboard
calendar
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
girl
portrait
study
three-quarter length
pattern
blue
flat
Nabis
wallpaper
floral
dress
dot
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
1896- d. 1943: Maurice Denis (1870-1943)
1943-1972: Dominique Denis (son of the artist), by descent
1972- d. 2009: Günter Busch (1917-2009, Director Kunsthalle Bremen, 1950-1984), gift from above, July 1972
2009-2014: Busch family, by descent [1]
From 2014: Dallas Museum of Art, purchased from the above, through Galerie Arnoldi-Livie, Munich
[1] The Busch family consigned the painting for sale.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
Maurice Denis, Mädchen mit Puppe (Portrait Thérèse Watillaux), 1896. 61 x 46 cm, Inv. Nr. 872-1959/20. Kunsthalle Bremen.
WEB RESOURCES
- Maurice Denis: Earthly Paradise~Read a short biography and summary of Maurice Denis' career is available as part of this exhibition announcement from the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, February 22, 2007 to May 20, 2007.
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
- Denis was not the only Nabi artist who depicted youthful subjects. Children are the main focus in two works by Denis' colleagues (and friends) also in the DMA collection-- Edouard Vuillard's The First Steps (c. 1900-1901, 1994.220) and Pierre Bonnard's Interior: The Terrasse Children (1899, 1985.R.4).
- The director of the Kunsthalle Bremen acquired the finished portrait of Thérèse Watillaux for the museum in 1959. Denis' son gave this preperatory study for the portrait to the director in 1972 for his personal collection.
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 2014.27
Category
rules_operator
AND
General Description
This intimate study of a young child was painted by Maurice Denis in preparation for a more formal portrait of the sitter, a girl named Thérèse Watillaux. Working quickly on a makeshift cardboard support recycled from a wall calendar, Denis managed to capture both the infantile pudginess of his sitter's round face and the translucent delicacy of her complexion. His careful description of the emphatic patterns in her dress and the wallpaper in the background is characteristic of Nabi style in the 1890s. This study remained in the artist's family for many decades, and its original matte surface and dry, feathery brushwork remain wonderfully intact.
Excerpt from
Heather MacDonald, DMA Label copy (2014.27) for "Small Worlds: Edouard Vuillard and the Intimate Art of the Nabis," October 2014.
Fun Facts
- Denis was not the only Nabi artist who depicted youthful subjects. Children are the main focus in two works by Denis' colleagues (and friends) also in the DMA collection-- Edouard Vuillard's The First Steps (c. 1900-1901, 1994.220) and Pierre Bonnard's Interior: The Terrasse Children (1899, 1985.R.4).
- The director of the Kunsthalle Bremen acquired the finished portrait of Thérèse Watillaux for the museum in 1959. Denis' son gave this preperatory study for the portrait to the director in 1972 for his personal collection.
Archival Resources
Web Resources
- Maurice Denis: Earthly Paradise~Read a short biography and summary of Maurice Denis' career is available as part of this exhibition announcement from the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, February 22, 2007 to May 20, 2007.
Notes
Entered current label in text entries.
Found more recent label in Confluence and will add this label to TMS text entries for archival purposes. (1/10/2017)
Nicole Myers, DMA Label copy (2014.27), August 2016. [From PC-2016-EURO-Aug16Rotations-EDITED.docx]
Maurice Denis
French, 1870–1943
Portrait of a Young Girl (Thérèse Watillaux), 1896
Oil on cardboard
Beatrice and Patrick Haggerty Acquisition Fund, gift of Lawrence Milton Davis by exchange, gift of Caren Prothro by exchange, and the Patsy Lacy Griffith Collection, gift of Patsy Lacy Griffith by exchange, 2014.27
This intimate study of a young child was painted by Maurice Denis in preparation for a more formal portrait of the sitter, a girl named Thérèse Watillaux. Working quickly on a makeshift cardboard support recycled from a wall calendar, Denis managed to capture both the infantile pudginess of his sitter’s round face and the translucent delicacy of her complexion. His careful description of the patterns in her dress and the wallpaper in the background is characteristic of the Nabi style in the 1890s. This study remained in the artist’s family for many decades, and its original matte surface and dry, feathery brushwork remain wonderfully intact.
Added information about the catalogue raisonné project into the published references field.
2014 - The work will be included in the forthcoming catalog raisonné currently in preparation by Mme Claire Denis.
As of 2014, the work will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné. For more information see website (www.mauricedenis.com) or contact organizers- Claire Denis and Fabienne Stahl; "Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre de Maurice Denis,"; 4, rue Maurice Denis; F - 78100 Saint-Germain-en-Laye; catalogue@mauricedenis.com; tel/fax- 0033-(0)1 34 51 19 56.
Added as former title (provided by the dealer)- Portrait of a Young Girl (Study for the painting Jeune fille à la poupée (Thérèse Watillaux))
TMS needs to have an OBJECT NAME
Added as former title according to inscription and Kunsthalle Bremen title of completed portrait- Studien fur Mädchen mit Puppe.
Deleted the UMO for the completed portrait at Kunsthalle Bremen because the object number was entered in Piction. (248949181: UMO)
GDocs routing process- this GDoc has not shown the provenance field as of November 16. This was possibly caused by additional text appearing next to the field heading in Evernote. I removed the extraneous text on 11/16 to see if the field will be harvested into the GDoc.
Artist geographies:
born- Granville, Manche
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Denis, Maurice
Cultures
Geography
Process/materials
oil paint
cardboard
calendar
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
girl
portrait
study
three-quarter length
pattern
blue
flat
Nabis
wallpaper
floral
dress
dot
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
1896- d. 1943: Maurice Denis (1870-1943)
1943-1972: Dominique Denis (son of the artist), by descent
1972- d. 2009: Günter Busch (1917-2009, Director Kunsthalle Bremen, 1950-1984), gift from above, July 1972
2009-2014: Busch family, by descent [1]
From 2014: Dallas Museum of Art, purchased from the above, through Galerie Arnoldi-Livie, Munich
[1] The Busch family consigned the painting for sale.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
2014.27
source file
object_notes_3_c-0217.xml.nores