# Blessing of a Yacht on the Belon River

**Maurice Denis** (French, 1870–1943)  
1899  
oil on canvas  
Unframed: 75 x 80 cm (29 1/2 x 31 1/2 in.)

Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art, 2020.110. [The museum's record](https://clevelandart.org/art/2020.110).

## About this work

Maurice Denis made this painting during the summer of 1899 while vacationing with his family in the coastal village of Le Pouldu in Brittany in northwestern France. Two-thirds of this canvas is filled by the lavender-pink surface of the water, dotted with touches of color that suggest reflections of flags and sails on the Belon River. Local women wearing traditional headdresses observe the scene from the riverbank in the foreground, shaded by trees whose foliage frames the top of the composition.

_Text from the Cleveland Museum of Art._

Maurice Denis painted this in 1899, aged 29. It is now at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

### How it was made

- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [Maurice Denis](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/maurice-denis)

French, 1870–1943

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- Culture: France
- The artist was 29
- Real size: about 30 × 31 in (75 × 80 cm). The 20 × 30 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 19th century
- Colour: black
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/458.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/458/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/blessing-of-a-yacht-on-the-belon-river-cma-92844).