Selected works

« To paint with feeling » the plains of Latium to the Bay of Naples, from the gentleness of a sky after the rain to one plunged into the darkness of an ignited night, Simon Denis pursued the Sublime throughout his life. His work as a whole could be considered an ode to Nature, the absolute model of his inspirations. The concept of the Sublime, theorized in the 3rd century AD by Longinus, the first author to consider that the “sublime” was not just a rhetorical instrument of persuasion, was reexamined in the 18th century. It elicits in the experiencer a kind of “delightful terror”, in contrast to the sweetness felt in the presence of beauty. More than visual, it is an almost philosophical experience to which one is invited. In one of his notes, Simon Denis wrote, “One becomes very small and humble when one understands Nature” (Fondation Custodia, Frits Lugt Collection, Paris, inv. 2000-A.77.). This is what he illustrates, placing man face to face with his limits and his loss of control over a nature that he has been trying to tame for all time. In the staging of the futile efforts of these peasants, moved by despair, lacking foresight, the painter confronts man with his primal fears of death, suffering, and his impotence in avoiding them. Renewing both the tradition of vedute and classical landscapes, the chosen theme is also symptomatic of the scientific interest in the Age of Enlightenment in volcanoes, a natural phenomenon previously perceived through superstitions and popular beliefs.

We thank Valentina Branchini, an expert on the artist, for confirming the authenticity of the work.