Baigneuses à Perros-Guirec 1909 - 1912

Editor: Here we have Maurice Denis’ "Baigneuses à Perros-Guirec", made between 1909 and 1912 using gouache. It feels very dreamlike, almost as if time has stopped in this seaside scene. What can you tell me about it? Curator: As a materialist, I find the use of gouache especially interesting. It’s a readily available material, accessible to a broad audience, not just the elite, challenging that old hierarchy of materials. Note also the "en plein air" method. This isn't some studio-bound ideal; it's about capturing a specific place and time, a slice of modern leisure. How does that inform our understanding of the figures depicted? Editor: I suppose it shows the availability of the seaside as a place for leisure to the growing middle classes, capturing it immediately? It's interesting to see those women presented without that kind of aristocratic polish. Curator: Precisely. And what of their clothes and lack thereof? This contrast reveals anxieties surrounding both modernity and the body at the turn of the century, specifically regarding production, consumption, and class. Think about the means by which such attire became possible and the visual coding of those with the ‘means’ to indulge in these materials, and in leisurely acts, such as bathing. Who can relax, who must work, who provides materials? Editor: So, you're saying it's not just about the beauty of the scene, but about the social and economic forces that allowed it to exist, and the ways of representation associated to distinct classes? I see how his choices comment on more than just aesthetics. Curator: Exactly. Denis has carefully composed it, and selected materials, in a way that hints at social and cultural dialogues concerning consumerism, materiality, labor and modern anxieties about female agency. Editor: I hadn't considered all those layers. Thanks, it definitely changes my view!