Updated 14 April 2025
On Display Permanent collection
The Virgin Mary on a Path
| Date | ca. 1890-1892 |
|---|---|
| Materials and Techniques | oil on canvas |
| Size（cm） | 54 x 37 |
| Inscriptions | Stamped initials lower right: kxr |
| Category | Paintings |
| Collection Number | P.2018-0002 |
This painting by the Nabi school artist Roussel ably conveys his early experiments with form. The woman's ambiguous face and thin arms extending from a stiff, flattened body evoke a religious sensibility reminiscent of medieval saint imagery. The slender female and S-shaped path were motifs favored by Roussel's Nabi friend Maurice Denis. The background made up of brown and green-toned color planes resembles the scenes of Brittany painted by Gauguin and the Pont-Aven school. While he referred to the works of Denis, Gauguin and others, here Roussel reveals his own unique creativity by using the geometric form of the woman's garment to stabilize the composition. (Source: Gallery label, August 2020)
Provenance
Jacques Roussel, artist's grand-son; his sale, Enghien, 13 April 1986, no. 25; private collection, France, acquired at the above sale; purchased by NMWA, 23 July 2018.
Exhibition History
- 1944
- K-X Roussel, Galerie Maratier, Paris, 0 1944 - 0 1944, no. 160.
- 1964
- K-X Roussel, Gallery Wildenstein, London, 0 1964 - 0 1964, no. 1, repr.
- 1965
- Ker-Xavier Roussel, Kunsthalle Bremen, 26 September 1965 - 21 November 1965, cat. no. 9.
- 1968
- Vuillard-Roussel, Haus der Kunst Munich, Munich, 16 March 1968 - 12 May 1968, Orangerie des Tuileries, 16 May-16 September 1968, no. 206, repr.
- 1972
- French Symbolist Painters: Moreau, Puvis de Chavannes, Redon and Their Followers, Hayward Gallery, London, 7 June 1972 - 23 July 1972, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, 9 August-17 September 1972, no. 305, repr.
- 1972
- El Simbolismo en la Pintura Francesa, Museo Español de Arte Contemporáneo, Barcelona, 0 October 1972 - 0 November 1972, no. 243, repr.
- 1990
- Gauguin et les Nabis, Parthenon Tama, Tokyo, 31 October 1990 - 2 December 1990, Niigata Daiwa, 2-15 January 1991; Navio Museum of Art, Osaka, 8 March-7 April; Simonoseki City Art Museum, 12 April-12 May, no. XIII-2, p. 94, repr.
- 1993
- Die NABIS, Propheten der Moderne, Kunsthaus, Zürich, 28 May 1993 - 15 August 1998, no. 85, repr.
- 1993
- NABIS 1888-1900, Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Paris, 21 September 1993 - 3 January 1994, no. 85, repr.
- 2011
- Ker-Xavier Roussel, 1867-1944: le Nabi bucolique, Musée de Pont-Aven, Pont-Aven, 0 2011 - 0 2011, no. 22, p. 9 (detail), p. 75, repr.
Bibliography
- 1972
- Stump, Jeanne. The art of Ker-Xavier Roussel. Kansas, 1972, fig. 12, pp. 60-61.
- 1978
- Mauner, George L. The Nabis: Their History and Their Art 1888-1896. New York, 1978, p. 228.
- 1979
- Monneret, Sophie. L'Impressionnisme et son époque. vol. 2, Paris, Denoël, 1979, p. 218.
- 1982
- Götte, Gisela. Ker-Xavier Roussel, Untersuchungen zu seiner Entwicklung vor allem zum Verhältnis Frühwerk-Spätwerk. Brême, 1982, pp. 164-168.
- 1990
- Freches-Thory, Claire; Terrasse, Antoine. Les Nabis. Paris, 1990, p. 70, repr.
- 2002
- Jeancolas, Claude. La peinture des Nabis. Paris, 2002, p. 166, repr.
- 2020
- Annual Bulletin of the National Museum of Western Art. No. 53 (Apr. 2018-Mar. 2019), 2020, Hakamata, Hiroyo. New Acquisitions. pp. 13-15, List of New Acquisitions. p. 22, col. repr.