Maurice Denis

Our Souls, in Languorous Gestures

1898, published 1899
color lithograph

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In the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland · as of July 2026

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FROM THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART’S CATALOG

Women in domestic interiors and protected gardens provided the subject matter for Denis’s portfolio of 12 color lithographs entitled Love . The feminine associations with the interior illustrated in Our Souls, in Slight Gestures are underscored by the ruffled lampshade, roses, and arabesques on the piano shawl. Throughout the 19th century, women played music, with few exceptions, at home. Within these confines, their accomplishments were relegated to that of the amateur, performing for friends but not for money or public acclaim.

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