Drying the Linen, or Moonrise at the Priory

Description

This painting depicts the enclosed backyard garden of a former priory—a religious building where monks and nuns live under the leadership of a prior—that Maurice Denis purchased in 1914. He transformed the building into a home for his large family and lived there for the last 30 years of his life. A woman dressed in black hangs linens to dry, so that—according to custom—they will be bleached by moonlight. The full moon casts a golden glow over the entire nighttime scene.




[SF1]Thanks for including this! [HL2]I’m learning! 😉

Provenance

Pierre Guéguen [1889-1965] Paris, France, by gift from the artist (1941–at least 1945); Claude R. Cueto, Paris, France (after 1945–1987); Claude R. Cueto, December 22, 1987, sold to the Sam Josefowitz Family (1987); The Sam Josefowitz Family, New York, NY, April 2010, sold to Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley (1987–2010); Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley, Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art (2010–2020); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (2020–)

Drying the Linen, or Moonrise at the Priory

Maurice Denis

1894

Accession Number

2020.109

Medium

oil on canvas glued to cardboard

Dimensions

Unframed: 34.9 x 31.4 x 0.6 cm (13 3/4 x 12 3/8 x 1/4 in.)

Classification

Painting

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley Collection Gift