# The Orange Christ

**Maurice Denis** (French, 1870–1943)  
1889  
oil on board  
Unframed: 23.8 x 18.9 cm (9 3/8 x 7 7/16 in.)

Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art, 2020.107. [The museum's record](https://clevelandart.org/art/2020.107).

## About this work

A devout Catholic, Maurice Denis sought to create what he described as “imperishable icons.” In this small painting, he used flat planes of intense colors to conjure emotion in the viewer. Here, a somber group of women, depicted as amorphous black forms, gather around an orange figure of Christ on the cross. The sky is a reddish-purple streaked with green clouds. Pink angels flank the crucified Christ whose head is haloed in brilliant yellow. In this painting, the daring young artist combined religious fervor with unprecedented visual experimentation.

_Text from the Cleveland Museum of Art._

Maurice Denis painted this in 1889, aged 19. 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 19
- Real size: about 9½ × 7½ in (24 × 19 cm). The 8 × 10 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 19th century
- Colour: red
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/454.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/454/1920.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
- 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
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118
- 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

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/the-orange-christ-cma-84662).