(Granville 1870-1945 St. Germain-en-Laye) A final composition study for the painting "L'Orgue de L'éternel Eté", c. 1905, monogrammed MAVD, red chalk, pencil and white chalk, on paper, laid down on cardboard, 74 x 84,8 cm, framed, (GG)

Provenance:
From the estate of the artist; mentioned in the sketch book of the artist (payments and sales), 1906-1907: "trois figures de l'orgue à Vollard"; Auction Versailles, Maître Blache, 8. November 1981 (with the wrong title "Jeunes filles au jardin"); there acquired by the present owner; private collection, Italy.

We are grateful to Claire Denis for the attribution of the present drawing. With a letter from Claire Denis and Fabienne Stahl (Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre de Maurice Denis, dated 9th January 2017).

The drawing is listed in the archives and will be catalogued in the Catalogue Raisonné which is prepared by Claire Denis und Fabienne Stahl (Index Nummer 905.9105).

In 1904 Maurice Denis was commissioned the wall painting "L'Eternel Eté" (the eternal summer) by Kurt von Mutzenbecher for his music room in his villa in Wiesbaden in Germany. It was finished and installed in 1906; in 1914 it was removed, due to Mutzenbechers moving out. Since then the present location of the painting was unknown. Denis had assembled on one folding screen four canvases each with the depictions: "L'Eternel Eté: le chant choral, l'orgue, le quator, la danse". This folding-screen (see fig. 1) which was preserved for a long time in the house of the artist – Le Prieuré in Saint-Gemain-en-Laye – was recently acquired by the Musée d’Orsay (Inv. RF MOP 2015 5). The present drawing is a final composition study for the painting "L'Orgue" (the Organ) by Maurice Denis; a second study of the monumental folding screen consisting of four canvases - "L'Eternel Eté" (The eternal summer) - is preserved in the Musée d’Orsay.