Paintings, Drawings, Sculpture

under his supervision and that of the illustrator and printmaker Tony Beltrand. In 1903 , the composer René de Castéra who was a close friend of Denis, asked the artist to create a painted interpretation of the first illustration in the book to be used as the front cover of an exceptionally bound (and possibly unique) edition of Imitation . Our work is the result. Denis added to his first composition vibrant color and the additional figure of Mary Magdalene in order to more clearly illustrate the verse: “Whoever follows Me does not walk in darkness.” In the final version used for Castera’s binding, Denis again changed the composition, making the bare forest bloom in Christ’s path and replacing the Magdalene with three draped praying figures. Our painting is an interim step in the development of this project.

Whoever Follows Me Does Not Walk in Darkness (proof), 1899 . Lithograph; 3 11 ⁄ 16 × 3 9 ⁄ 16 inches Metropolitan Museum of Art