The Visitation 1894

Maurice Denis’s The Visitation, painted with oil on canvas, shows a biblical scene transposed into a contemporary, abstracted garden. The oil paint has been applied in thin layers, allowing the texture of the canvas to subtly show through. This creates a matte surface that absorbs light, giving the painting a soft, ethereal quality. Denis's choice of color, dominated by muted browns, yellows, and reds, further enhances this effect, evoking the subdued atmosphere of a late afternoon. The flatness of the composition, combined with the simplified forms of the figures and the stylized rendering of the landscape, points to the painting’s overall construction. This approach reflects a conscious rejection of academic naturalism, and an embrace of symbolic expression. By emphasizing the material qualities of the paint and the flatness of the canvas, Denis draws attention to the constructed nature of the image, reminding us that art is not simply a reflection of reality, but a crafted creation.