Updated 09 April 2025
On Display Permanent collection
On Display
Digitales
| Date | 1899 |
|---|---|
| Materials and Techniques | tempera on canvas |
| Size（cm） | 150 x 70 |
| Inscriptions | Signed and dated lower right: P. Ranson 99. |
| Standard ref. | Bitker/Genty 426 |
| Category | Paintings |
| Collection Number | P.2005-0001 |
A woman stands in the forest, surrounded by plants and trees. The tall, vertically arranged canvas has been created in an extremely decorative composition that fully represents the characteristics of its Nabis painter Ranson. The four sides of the canvas are framed by decorative borders reminiscent of tapestries, and it can be imagined that this painting was originally a preparatory work for a tapestry project. The Nabis painters were highly conscious of the planar nature of paintings, and the inherent decorativeness of such planar images, and they considered medieval period and later tapestries to be one of the best models in the creation of their works. Digitalis (foxglove), the plant with purplish red bell-shaped blossoms, grows in large form across the foreground. This plant's leaves had been known since antiquity as a tonic for the heart. The twining movement of this plant burgeoning with life is a realization of the Nabis' decorative aesthetic. On the one hand, as a result of the Nabis' study of the decorative arts both of Japan and of Europe's medieval period, they used a large number of planar elements and curved lines which eventually resulted in the Art Nouveau style. On the other hand, they also created a symbolic type of expression intimately linked to the fin-de-siècle symbolism of the late 19th century. The fragrance of the blossom sniffed by the woman in the painting, along with its pollen and plant-life mysteries, is somehow intimately linked to the life force within the woman herself. In 1895 the Maison de l'Art Nouveau of Siegfried Bing was set up on rue de Provence in Paris. Ranson's wall mural series of seven works for the dining room were created as part of the refitting and redecoration of the shop. A major work from that series, Seven Women Harvesting, was acquired by the Niigata Prefectural Museum of Modern Art in 1992. Ranson also created vitraux and tapestries. It was during this Maison de l'Art Nouveau period that Ranson's inclination towards decorative arts, particularly tapestries, increased and he became involved in tapestry production in competition with his friends Maillol and Rippl-Ronai. Thus said, however, there are only some ten extant tapestries by Ranson remaining today, and the majority of his tapestry works remain solely in cartoon form. It is possible that this work is related to a tapestry project that was never actually realized. (Source: Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2009, cat. no. 106)
Provenance
Sale, Drouot, 7 June 1909, Mes. Lair et Dubreuil, sale posthume de Paul Ranson, no. 66, titre 《Les Digitales》, 80frs., Paris; sale, hôtel des ventes, 25 October 1987, 《Les Digitales》 ou 《Jeune femme dans un jardin》, Enghien; New York, collection Barry Friedman, 1987; Galerie Armonie, 1989, Nantes; sale Christie's 3 April 1990, Impressionist and Modern Paintings and Sculptures, no. 289 a. p. 79, London; Galerie Ergastère, Paris; Purchased by the NMWA, 2005.
Exhibition History
- 1901
- Exposition de la Société nationale des Beaux-Arts, Grand Palais, Paris, 2 April 1901 - 30 June 1901, no. 319 (Carton de tapisserie)
- 1967
- Paul Ranson, première rètrospective, Galleria del Levante, München, 0 June 1967 - 0 0, no. 4 (Femme aux fleurs)
- 1983
- The Lines of Art Nouveau, Dayton Art Institute, Dayton, OH, 25 October 1983 - 29 January 1984, no. 14
- 1990
- Gauguin et les Nabis, Parthenon Tama, Tokyo, 31 October 1990 - 2 December 1990, Niigata Daiwa, Niigata, 2 January 1991 - 15 January 1991, Navio Museum of Art, Osaka, 8 March 1991- 7 April 1991, cat. no. 36
- 1997
- Paul Élie Ranson: du symbolisme à l'art nouveau, Musée départemental Maurice Denis "Le Prieuré", Saint-Germain-en-Laye, 25 October 1997 - 25 January 1998, cat. no. 95
- 2022
- In Dialogue with Nature - from Friedrich, Monet and Van Gogh to Richter, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 4 June 2022 - 11 September 2022, cat. no. 49
Bibliography
- 1901
- Jaques, G. M. Petit appartements. L'Art Décoratitif. 1901
- 1954
- Humbert, Agnes. Les Nabis et leurs époque, 1888-1900. Genève, 1954, p. 91.
- 1967
- Waldberg, Patrick. Paul Ranson: prima mostra retrospettiva, Galleria del Levante, München Juni 1967. Milano/ Roma/ München, Galleria del Levante, 1967, cat. no. 4 (titled Femme aux fleurs), repr.
- 1967
- Barilli, Renato. Il simbolismo della pittura francese del ottocento. Milan, 1967 , no. 36, p. 62.
- 1969
- Julian, Phillipe. Dreamers of Decadance. Paris, 1969, p. 206.
- 1975
- Redon, Seurat and the Symbolists. New York, Lamplight Pub, 1975 (Lamplight collection of modern art), p. 36 (titled Girl with flowers)
- 1976
- Interenational Herald Tribune. 19-20 June 1976, 表紙 (titled Jeune Femme aux digitales), repr.
- 1978
- Mauner, George L. The Nabis and their History and their Art, 1888-1896. New York, 1978 , fig. 115.
- 1987
- Joron-Derem, Christophe. Les Symbolistes à l'honneur. Beaux-Arts Magazine. no. 51, 1987, pp. 32-33, repr.
- 1992
- Lévy-Gormezano, Francine. Paul Elie Ranson, Oeuvres textiles et panneaux décoratifs, 1892-99. Master's thesis. Universitè Paris X-Nanterre, 1992
- 1993
- Galerie l'Ergastère. Aux cimaises d'un collectionneur. Connaissance des Arts. no. 500, 1993, pp. 21-24, repr.
- 1997
- Lévy-Gormezano, Francine. "Le Digitalis ou Jeune femme aux digitales ou Jeune femme dans un jardin". Paul Elie Ranson: du symbolisme à l'art nouveau (exh. cat.). Musée départemental Maurice Denis "Le Prieuré", Saint-Germain-en-Laye, 25 October 1997 - 25 January 1998, Paris, Somogy, c1997, cat. no. 95, repr.
- 1999
- Bitker, Brigitte Ranson; Genty, Gilles. Paul Ranson, 1861-1909: catalogue raisonné, japonisme, symbolisme, art nouveau. Paris, Somogy éditions d'art, c1999, cat. no. 426, repr.
- 2006
- Masterpieces of The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art; Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2006 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no. 106, col. repr.
- 2007
- Annual bulletin of the National Museum of Western Art. No. 40 (Apr. 2005-Mar. 2006), 2007, Takahashi, Akiya. New Acquisitions. pp. 9-10, List of New Acquisitions. p. 63, repr.
- 2009
- Masterpieces of The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art; Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2009, no. 106, col. repr.
- 2013
- Masterpieces: The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2013 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no. 108, col. repr.
- 2022
- In Dialogue with Nature: from Friedrich, Monet and Van Gogh to Richter (exh. cat.). Jingaoka, Megumi; Shinfuji, Atsushi; Yomiuri Shimbun, Museum Exhibition Department, eds. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo; Yomiuri Shimbun; NHK; NHK Promotions, 2022, pp. 114, 258, cat. no. 49, col. repr.