Illustratie met hoofd van vrouw met gesloten ogen en bomen bij gedicht in gedichtenbundel Sagesse van Paul Verlaine Possibly 1895

This is Maurice Denis's illustration for Paul Verlaine's "Sagesse," a woodcut where the spiritual meets the sylvan. Notice how the blocky forms of trees create vertical thrust, but the somber monotone flattens the space, inviting contemplation rather than depth. Denis was a key figure in the Symbolist movement, which rejected naturalism in favor of emotional and spiritual experiences. Here, the woman’s closed eyes aren’t just a detail; they’re a gateway to inner worlds. The trees, rendered with a kind of simplified geometry, aren't just trees. They are structural elements that, along with the woman's serene face, represent the convergence of earthly and ethereal realms. This image destabilizes the conventional divide between the visible and the invisible, suggesting that true wisdom, or "Sagesse," comes from within. The deliberate crudeness of the cut reinforces this idea, hinting that perfection lies not in meticulous detail but in the raw expression of feeling. The artwork acts as a visual poem, each line and shape resonating with the spiritual themes of Verlaine's verse.