# Simon Denis

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{{Short description|Flemish painter (1755–1813)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{no footnotes|date=November 2024}}
thumb|Simon Denis, self-portrait<br>(circa 1785)
[[File:'Study of Clouds with a Sunset near Rome', oil painting on paper by Simon Alexandre-Clément Denis, 1786-1801, Getty Museum.jpg|thumb|''Study of Clouds with a Sunset near Rome'', oil on paper, now at the [J. Paul Getty Museum](/source/J._Paul_Getty_Museum)]]
[[File:Simon Denis Rainbow.jpg|thumb|''Landscape near Rome during a Storm'' (1786–1806) oil on paper, now at [The Metropolitan Museum of Art](/source/The_Metropolitan_Museum_of_Art)]]

'''Simon-Joseph-Alexandre-Clément Denis''' (14 April 1755 in [Antwerp](/source/Antwerp) – 1 January 1813 in [Naples](/source/Naples)) was a Flemish painter active primarily in Italy.

==Life==
Denis first studied in his native city of Antwerp, with the [landscape](/source/landscape_painting) and animal painter [H.-J. Antonissen](/source/Hendrik-Jozef_Antonissen).  The work of [Balthasar Paul Ommeganck](/source/Balthasar_Paul_Ommeganck) also influenced his style.

He lived in Paris for ten years where he gained the patronage of [genre painter](/source/genre_painting) and art dealer [Jean-Baptiste-Pierre Lebrun](/source/Jean-Baptiste-Pierre_Lebrun), whose support allowed him to move to [Rome](/source/Rome) in 1786.  His paintings there attracted favorable attention, and in 1787 he married a local woman.  He remained close to the Flemish community in Rome, and in 1789 was elected to head the Foundation St.-Julien-des-Flamands.  He also developed ties within the French artistic community; [Élisabeth-Louise Vigée-Le Brun](/source/%C3%89lisabeth-Louise_Vig%C3%A9e-Le_Brun) stayed with him for some days in 1789 and that same year he and she traveled with [François-Guillaume Ménageot](/source/Fran%C3%A7ois-Guillaume_M%C3%A9nageot) to visit [Tivoli](/source/Tivoli%2C_Italy). 
During his period in Rome, Denis painted in open air prioritizing famous landscapes such as the waterfalls of [Tivoli](/source/Tivoli%2C_Italy) in the outskirt of Rome, annotating some of his works.

[François Marius Granet](/source/Fran%C3%A7ois_Marius_Granet) sought his advice when he arrived in Rome in 1802.

In 1803, he was elected to the [Accademia di San Luca](/source/Accademia_di_San_Luca).

Simon Denis exhibited several times at the [Salon de peinture de Paris](/source/Salon_de_peinture_et_de_sculpture) : two ''Vue de Rivière. Paysage orné de figures & d’animaux'' in 1791 catalogue number 87 and 740, one ''Paysage'' in 1802 (then purchased by the maréchal Murat) catalogue number 81, one ''Cheval se défendant contre un taureau'' in 1804 catalogue number 127, and ''Des bœufs gardés par des chiens'' in 1808 catalogue number 170.
 
He settled for good in [Naples](/source/Naples) in 1806, becoming first [court painter](/source/court_painter) to [Joseph Bonaparte](/source/Joseph_Bonaparte).  From 1809 he became professor at the Accademia di Belle Arti.

Landscape painter Prosper Barrigue de Fontainieu (1760–1850) was his pupil.

Denis died in 1813.

==References==
*Valentina Branchini. "Simon Denis (1755–1813) in Italia: dipinti e disegni di paesaggio". PhD diss., Università di Bologna, 2002–3.
*Philip Conisbee, Sarah Faunce, and Jeremy Strick. ''In the Light of Italy: Corot and Early Open-Air Painting''.  New Haven; Yale University Press, 1996.

==External links==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Denis, Simon}}
Category:18th-century Flemish painters
Category:18th-century male artists
Category:Painters from Antwerp
Category:1755 births
Category:1812 deaths
Category:Flemish court painters
{{Flemish-painter-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Simon Denis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Denis) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Denis?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.