Inter artes et naturam (Between Art and Nature)

Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, ca. 1890–95

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The Latin title means “between art and nature.” In this long, low canvas, almost three times as wide as it is tall, men, women and children work, carry loads and rest among young trees, with buildings and the sea behind them. The colors are pale and the figures are simple, with little shadow.

Oil on canvas · 15 7/8 x 44 3/4 in. (40.3 x 113.7 cm · The Metropolitan Museum of Art · Symbolism

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Inter artes et naturam (Between Art and Nature)

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Museum title: Inter artes et naturam (Between Art and Nature)
Artist: Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (French, Lyons 1824–1898 Paris)
Date: ca. 1890–95
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 15 7/8 x 44 3/4 in. (40.3 x 113.7 cm)
Credit line: Gift of Mrs. Harry Payne Bingham, 1958
Image license: CC0 1.0 · Public domain
Museum record: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Artist’s life 1824–1898

Symbolism c. 1880–1910

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Galler’s rooms and hanging scale are imagined. The image is the museum’s original digital reproduction.