Easter Morning

by Maurice Denis

Easter Morning
1894
Painting

Details

Easter Morning (also known as Holy Women at the Tomb) exemplifies the evermore pronounced integration of Christian allegory into Denis's work; unlike in Landscape with Green Trees, these themes are not ambiguously or ephemerally expressed. In fact, the title of the work indicates that the women are approaching the tomb of Christ on Easter Morning, in which context the beauty of the landscape comes to stand for the beauty of the women's souls, and of their spiritual devotion. Other paintings produced around this time focus on similar themes, including the Annunciation, the Madonna and Child, the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection. The increasingly direct expression of Christian faith through Denis's work would lead him away from  some of the central concerns of modern art.

About This Artwork

The work depicts a group of woman, clothed in white robes and piously composed, walking in a garden. They are accompanied by a child, and by two angels who hold their hands up in a gesture of protection. In the background is a vivid landscape, perhaps Italianate, yet strangely otherworldly, composed of small whitewashed houses dotted along a green hillside. 

This is a oil on canvas that is in the  Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Musée Départemental 

Read the Bible Story