Death in Venice - Maurice Barrès & Maurice Denis - Antique Book

Author: Maurice BARRÈS (1862~1923) Title: *La Mort de Venise* (DEATH IN VENICE. ILLUSTRATIONS BY MAURICE DENIS, ENGRAVED ON WOOD BY JACQUES BELTRAND) Signature: E.H. [i.e., Edward Heilbuth]. Technique: Letterpress printing, 88 pages. Features 20 color woodcut illustrations by Maurice Denis (10 full-page), along with some black and white woodcut illustrations, printed on imitation parchment. Bound in raspberry-colored half-Moroccan goatskin with handmade marbled paper (red ink Canson paper). This is copy number 204 of a limited edition of 225. Year: 1930. Dimensions: Folio (32 x 24 cm) (BO 067-1). About the Work: Maurice Barrès (1862~1923), the French novelist, is not widely known in Chinese-speaking circles, with limited research available. According to foreign introductions, he was influenced by Baudelaire's romanticism and later embraced fervent nationalism, becoming a Member of Parliament in 1889, which intensified his nationalistic sentiments and led to the publication of his novels. He was also an avid traveler, with journeys spanning Italy, Spain, and the Near East. *Death in Venice*, inspired by his 1892 visit to Venice at the age of thirty, captures his fascination with the oriental hues of Venice's coastlines, palaces, and canals. To him, the island, resembling the Grim Reaper, pulsed with life through the artistry of past masters. In Venice, he experienced a spiritual exhilaration, a beauty found in danger and death. He later remarked, "In Venice, I decided my life." Barrès contemplated death throughout his life, feeling the brevity and "absurdity" of existence. Nationalism helped him transcend his self-centeredness. In his later years, he returned to Catholicism, finding solace and forgetting his earlier destructive impulses. His youthful exuberance gradually gave way to an acceptance of societal and religious discipline, with more measured emotions and a literary style that evolved from flamboyant and ornate to refined. Published in 1903, *Death in Venice* was brought back to the literary stage in 1930 during a flourishing era for finely crafted, limited-edition illustrated books. The publisher Edward Heilbuth collaborated with French artist Maurice Denis (1870–1943), incorporating watercolor sketches Denis had created during his travels in Italy. Heilbuth also commissioned the printmaker Jacques Beltrand (1874~1977) to employ his exceptional color woodcut techniques to faithfully reproduce the textures and colors of Denis's watercolors (as seen in *Journal of a Trip to Italy*). Beltrand, hailing from a family of printmakers, excelled in woodcut and wood-engraving. His extraordinary skill earned him the admiration of Auguste-Louis Lepère (1849–1918), a pivotal artist in the promotion of innovative wood-engraving in 19th-century France, starting from 1900. Beltrand favored creating works in color or in tonal variations, with subjects ranging from landscapes and cityscapes to portraits and scenes of daily life, though religious themes were his forte. Between the Impressionist movement of the late 19th century and the rise of 20th-century modern art, French artist Maurice Denis played a significant role. A member of Les Nabis, he delved into Symbolism while also drawing inspiration from Neoclassicism. His artistic theories laid the groundwork for Cubism, Fauvism, and Abstract Art. After World War I, he founded the Ateliers d’Art Sacré (Sacred Art Workshops), dedicated to reviving religious art and adorning numerous churches. Maurice Denis was born in the small coastal town of Granville in Normandy, France. He moved to the suburbs of Paris in his childhood and was an only child. He showed an early passion for art and faith, documenting his thoughts and impressions of church ceremonies in his diary at thirteen. He also frequented the Louvre Museum. At fifteen, he vowed to become a Christian artist, inspired by religious miracles. He initially studied philosophy at a prestigious secondary school but left in 1888 to attend the School of Fine Arts, where he met Paul Sérusier (1864–1927) and Pierre Bonnard (1867–1947), sharing his ideas on painting. Through Bonnard, he met Jean-Édouard Vuillard (1868–1940), Paul Ranson (1864–1909), and others, forming the Nabis group. They championed positivism, opposed Naturalism and materialism, and favored idealism. During this period, he was deeply influenced by Paul Gauguin's (1848–1903) Symbolist works, incorporating mystical elements into his own art, which gradually shaped his mature style. In 1890, an article he published in *Art et Critique* sparked a new conceptual direction. He stated, "A painting, before being a battle horse, a nude woman, or any other subject, is essentially a flat surface covered with colors arranged in a certain order." While this concept wasn't entirely original, his articulation captured the attention of artists, thereby laying the foundation for Modernism. From 1900 onwards, Maurice Denis became interested in Italian Renaissance painting, traveled frequently to Italy, and increasingly focused on religious themes, while also capturing Italian landscapes in watercolor. *Please feel free to message us with any detailed inquiries.* *This gallery primarily features Western antiques, vintage jewelry, home decor, and antique European prints and books. As vintage items, they may bear traces of their history and age. However, they are thoughtfully curated and placed to enhance unique lifestyles and aesthetic principles. 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