Bathers at Port-Blanc

Maurice Denis visited Perros-Guirec for the first time in 1886, and in 1908 he purchased Villa Silencio and established his summer home there. This harmonious and peaceful canvas depicts Port-Blanc harbour, not far from Perros-Guirec in the department of Cotes d’Armor. In this seaside scene, three figures are bathing while two nudes stand unabashedly in the foreground, their lower bodies hidden by imposing granite boulders. Pink rocks along the coastline contrast with a vast expanse of luminous, pale blue water, where white brushstrokes indicate ripples on the surface. This repetitive element gives the work a “decorative” aspect.