DENIS Maurice. Les Petites Fleurs de Saint François d’Assise

Les Petites Fleurs de Saint François d’Assise. [The Little Flowers of Saint Francis of Assisi].

Paris. Jacques Beltrand. 1913.

Limited edition of 120 copies on watermarked laid paper by the Imprimerie Nationale, published with the authorization of the Keeper of the Seals, Minister of Justice. Copy No. 60

Folio (265 x 364 mm). Half Levant long-grain morocco with corners over vellum boards. Spine with five raised bands, gilt title label and date on the spine. Original wrappers preserved. One frontispiece, 79 compositions within the text, and over 250 floral borders. Collation: [12 pp], title page, 6 pp., [1] leaf Half-title, [1] leaf Frontispiece Title, 256 pp., [4].

Three years were required for the engraver Jacques Beltrand, assisted by his brothers, to execute all the woodcuts and successfully reproduce the full aesthetic quality of Maurice Denis's gouaches and watercolors.

The engraving work makes this book a masterpiece in its own right within the history of modern bibliophilia. Breaking away from the hyper-realistic iconography of the era (Mucha, Schwabe, Bouguereau, Doré…), it positions itself as an heir to the Italian Primitives (Fra Angelico, Giotto… see the preface by André Pératé) while remaining steeped in new Symbolist themes, Art Nouveau curves, and Japonisme-inspired woodsurfing. One will also recognize the pastel color palette characteristic of the Nabis.

The book’s apocryphal themes suit Maurice Denis perfectly, offering him the ideal medium for his spiritual quest and the aesthetic renewal sought by the Nabis—those young Symbolist painters passionate about esotericism and spirituality, disciples of Gauguin, among whom Maurice Denis was a key figure.

In a lighter vein, one might say that with this book, Maurice Denis positions himself somewhere between George Auriol and Prosper-Alphonse Isaac, imitating Giotto...
The gospels of Saint Francis, while possessing their own canonical text, also have their apocrypha. Here recomposed and translated by André Pératé based on the 1822 and 1900 editions, they escape the rigid stature of the canon.

The Little Flowers (Fioretti in Italian) serve as the surroundings to the Great Text—those small, cast-aside writings that live in the shadow of major narratives, sharing the Saint's life more simply, with less conformism and solemnity. These "sidebar" stories, told orally, are the little flowers of a wonderful legend, devoutly sown and cultivated, which would go on to nourish the lore passed down through the centuries.

Condition: Minor rubbing to the spine caps and corners. Otherwise in very good condition.