Les Nabis (French: les nabis, ) were a group of young French artists active in Paris from 1888 until 1900, who played a large part in the transition from

impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...

and academic art to

abstract art Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th ...

symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: Arts * Symbolism (arts), a 19th-century movement rejecting Realism ** Symbolist movement in Romania, symbolist literature and visual arts in Romania during the late 19th and early 20th centuries ** Russian sy ...

and the other early movements of

modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

. The members included

Pierre Bonnard Pierre Bonnard (; 3 October 186723 January 1947) was a French painter, illustrator and printmaker, known especially for the stylized decorative qualities of his paintings and his bold use of color. A founding member of the Post-Impressionist ...

Maurice Denis Maurice Denis (; 25 November 1870 – 13 November 1943) was a French painter, decorative artist, and writer. An important figure in the transitional period between impressionism and modern art, he is associated with '' Les Nabis'', symbolism, a ...

Paul Ranson Paul-Élie Ranson (29 March 1861 – 20 February 1909) was a French painter and writer associated with Les Nabis. Biography He was born in Limoges. His mother died in childbirth, so he was raised and educated by his grandparents and his ...

Édouard Vuillard Jean-Édouard Vuillard (; 11 November 186821 June 1940) was a French painter, decorative artist and printmaker. From 1891 through 1900, he was a prominent member of the Nabis, making paintings which assembled areas of pure color, and interior s ...

Ker-Xavier Roussel Ker-Xavier Roussel (10 December 1867 – 6 June 1944) was a French painter associated with Les Nabis. Biography Born François Xavier Roussel in Lorry-lès-Metz, Moselle in 1867, at age fifteen he studied at the Lycée Condorcet in Paris; al ...

Félix Vallotton Félix Édouard Vallotton (; December 28, 1865December 29, 1925) was a Swiss and French painter and printmaker associated with the group of artists known as . He was an important figure in the development of the modern woodcut. He painted portra ...

Paul Sérusier Paul Sérusier (9 November 1864 – 7 October 1927) was a French painter who was a pioneer of abstract art and an inspiration for the avant-garde Nabis movement, Synthetism and Cloisonnism. Education Sérusier was born in Paris. He studied a ...

and Auguste Cazalis. Most were students at the

Académie Julian The Académie Julian () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907) that was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number a ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in the late 1880s. The artists shared a common admiration for

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fr ...

and

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavour to a ...

and a determination to renew the art of painting, but varied greatly in their individual styles. They believed that a work of art was not a depiction of nature, but a synthesis of metaphors and symbols created by the artist. In 1900, the artists held their final exhibition and went their separate ways.Bétard, Daphne, ''La révolution Nabie'', in ''Les Nabis et le décor'', Beaux-Arts Éditions, pp. 8-21

Etymology

The Nabis took their name from a

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

term which comes from the word ''nebiim'' or "prophets" The term was coined in 1888 by the linguist Auguste Cazalis, who drew a parallel between the way these painters aimed to revitalize painting (as 'prophets of modern art') and the way the ancient prophets had rejuvenated Israel.

Beginning

'Motif Romanesque' by Maurice Denis, 1890, LACMA

The Nabis were a group of young artists of the

in Paris, who wanted to transform the foundations of art. One of the artists,

, had traveled to

Pont-Aven Pont-Aven (, Breton: 'River Bridge') is a commune in the Finistère department in the Brittany region in Northwestern France. In 2019, it had a population of 2,821. Demographics Inhabitants of Pont-Aven are called ''Pontavenistes'' in French ...

in October 1888, where under the guidance of

he made a small painting of the port on wood, composed of patches of vivid color assembled to give the feeling of the port. The students called this first Nabis painting '' The Talisman'', and it eventually became an icon of 20th-century art. In 1889, the same year of the Paris International Exposition and the opening of the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Locally nicknamed "'' ...

, the group held its first modest exposition at the Café des Arts, which was located without the grounds of the Exposition. It was titled ''The Impressionist and Synthesist Group'', and included works by two well-known artists, Paul Gauguin and

Émile Bernard Émile Henri Bernard (28 April 1868 – 16 April 1941) was a French Post-Impressionist painter and writer, who had artistic friendships with Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin and Eugène Boch, and at a later time, Paul Cézanne. Most of his nota ...

. In August 1890,

, then nineteen years old, gave the group a more concrete philosophy. Writing under the name Pierre Louis, he wrote an article in the journal ''Art et Critique'' entitled ''The Definition of Neo-traditionalism'', which became the manifesto of the movement. The celebrated opening line of the essay was: "Remember that a picture, before being a battle horse, a female nude or some sort of anecdote, is essentially a flat surface covered with colors assembled in a certain order." This idea was not original to Denis; the idea had been forward not long before by

Hippolyte Taine Hippolyte Adolphe Taine (, 21 April 1828 – 5 March 1893) was a French historian, critic and philosopher. He was the chief theoretical influence on French naturalism, a major proponent of sociological positivism and one of the first practition ...

in ''The Philosophy of Art'', where Taine wrote: "A painting is a colored surface, in which the various tones and various degrees of light are placed with a certain choice; that is its intimate being." However, it was the expression of Denis which seized the attention of artists. As Denis explained, he did not mean that form of the painting was more important than the subject. He wrote, "The profoundness of our emotions comes from the sufficiency of these lines and these colors to explain themselves...everything is contained in the beauty of the work." In his essay, he termed this new movement "neo-traditionalism", in opposition to the "progressivism" of the Neo-impressionists, led by

Seurat Georges Pierre Seurat ( , , ; 2 December 1859 – 29 March 1891) was a French post-Impressionist artist. He devised the painting techniques known as Divisionism, chromoluminarism and pointillism and used Conté, conté crayon for drawings on pa ...

. The following year, in 1891, three of the Nabis,

and Maurice Denis, took a studio at 28 rue Pigalle in Paris. It was frequented by other early Nabis, including

and Paul Sérusier, as well as journalists and figures from the theatrical and literary world. In 1892, the Nabis branched out into the theatrical world and the decorative arts. Paul Ranson, assisted by Sérusier, Bonnard, and Vuillard, designed sets for a theatrical presentation of the ''Bateau ivre'' of the poet

Arthur Rimbaud Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he starte ...

. Maurice Denis made costumes and sets for another theatrical production, the ''Trilogy d'Antoina'' at the Théatre Moderne, and also painted a ceiling for the residence of the art collector and painter

Henry Lerolle Henry Lerolle (3 October 1848 – 22 April 1929) was a French painter, art collector and patron, born in Paris. He studied at Académie Suisse and in the studio of Louis Lamothe. His work was exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1868, 1885, and 189 ...

. The Nabis held a group exhibition in Toulouse in June 1894, and the following year presented their work in

Siegfried Bing Samuel Siegfried Bing (26 February 1838 – 6 September 1905), who usually gave his name as S. Bing (not to be confused with his brother, Samuel Otto Bing, 1850–1905), was a German-French art dealer who lived in Paris as an adult, and who ...

's Maison de l'Art Nouveau, the famous gallery which had given its name to the

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

movement. Throughout their existence the Nabis were a sort of half-serious semi-secret society, who used humorous nicknames and a private vocabulary. Even the name of the group was secret until 1897. They called a studio an 'ergasterium' and ended their letters with the initials ''E.T.P.M.V. et M.P.'', signifying ''En ta paume, mon verbe et ma pensée'' ("In your palm, my word and my thoughts").

Japanese influence

The graphic art of Japan, known as

Japonism ''Japonisme'' is a French term that refers to the popularity and influence of Japanese art and design among a number of Western European artists in the nineteenth century following the forced reopening of foreign trade with Japan in 1858. Japon ...

, particularly woodblock prints, was an important influence on the Nabis. The style was popularized in France by the art dealer Siegfried Bing, who traveled to Japan to collect prints by

Hokusai , known simply as Hokusai, was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist of the Edo period, active as a painter and printmaker. He is best known for the woodblock printing in Japan, woodblock print series ''Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji'', which includes the ...

and other Japanese artists, and published a monthly art journal, ''

Le Japon Artistique ''Artistic Japan'' was a magazine of Japanese art, published by German-born French art dealer Siegfried Bing. It ran for thirty-six monthly issues from 1888 to 1891 in French, English, and German editions and contributed to a revival of Japonism ...

'', between May 1888 and April 1891, which offered color illustrations. In 1900 he organized an exhibit of seven hundred prints at the

École des Beaux-Arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth century ...

.Lacambre, Geneviève, ''La déferlante japonaise'', published in ''Les Nabis et le décor'', Beaux Arts Editions (March 2019), pp. 38-40 Pierre Bonnard was particularly influenced by the Japanese style; his nickname among the Nabis was "Le plus japonard". For one series of four paintings created in 1890–91, ''The Women in the Garden'', now in the

Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) ( en, Orsay Museum) is a museum in Paris, France, on the Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art ...

, Bonnard adapted a Japanese format called ''kakemono'' with a narrow vertical canvas. The models are his sister Andrée and his cousin Berthe Schaedin. The four figures are presented in curving, serpentine postures, like those in Japanese prints. The faces of the women look away from the artist; the bold patterns of their consumes and the foliage behind them dominate the paintings. He originally conceived the work as a Japanese screen, but he finally decided to separate it into four paintings, and to emphasize the decorative aspect, he added a painted border around the canvases. The theme of women in a garden, stylistically adapted from Japanese prints, appeared in the work of other Nabis, including Maurice Denis and Paul Sérusier. Denis used the theme of women in gardens in paintings and decorative murals. Sérusier adapted the same format in his ''Women at the Spring'' (1898), stylistically depicting women descending a hill to take water from a spring. File:Soir de septembre-Maurice Denis-IMG 8192.JPG, Maurice Denis, ''Evening in September'' (1891) File:Édouard Vuillard, 1891, The Flowered Dress (O vestido estampado), oil on canvas, 38 x 46 cm, Museu de Arte de São Paulo.jpg, ''The printed dress'' by

(1891), Museu de Arte de São Paulo

Religion, symbolism, myths and legends

The Nabis were influenced by the literature, music and theater of the

symbolist Symbolism was a late 19th-century art movement of French and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts seeking to represent absolute truths symbolically through language and metaphorical images, mainly as a reaction against naturalism and realis ...

movement, and, among some of the Nabis, there was a strong current of

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...

and

esotericism Western esotericism, also known as esotericism, esoterism, and sometimes the Western mystery tradition, is a term scholars use to categorise a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas a ...

. Their approach to their order was partly humorous and whimsical; the studio of Ranson at 25

Boulevard du Montparnasse The Boulevard du Montparnasse is a two-way boulevard in Montparnasse, in the 6th, 14th and 15th arrondissements in Paris. Situation The boulevard joins the place Léon Paul Fargue and place Camille Jullian. The Tour Montparnasse and plac ...

was called their "temple", Madame Ranson was termed "The light of the Temple", and the original Nabi painting by Sérusier was displayed in the studio like a shrine, and titled ''The Talisman''. Sérusier whimsically painted Paul Ranson in a sort of Nabic robe, with a staff and a text before him. However, they also had a more serious side. They rejected the materialism of the new industrial age, and admired the poetry of

Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticism inherited fro ...

, Mallarmé and

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

. They placed themselves in opposition to the current of naturalism expressed in the paintings of

Courbet Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( , , ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and t ...

and

Manet A wireless ad hoc network (WANET) or mobile ad hoc network (MANET) is a decentralized type of wireless network. The network is ad hoc because it does not rely on a pre-existing infrastructure, such as routers in wired networks or access points ...

and the literature of

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...

.Raffali, Ludovic, ''Les Nabis - Un movement Symbolist?'' in ''Les Nabis et le Decor'', ''L'Objet d'Art'', March 2019, pp. 63, 64 Maurice Denis and Paul Sérusier were the Nabis who most often painted religious subjects. The work of Denis was influenced by the paintings of

Fra Angelico Fra Angelico (born Guido di Pietro; February 18, 1455) was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance, described by Vasari in his '' Lives of the Artists'' as having "a rare and perfect talent".Giorgio Vasari, ''Lives of the Artists''. Pengu ...

. He often painted scenes and themes taken from the Bible, but with the figures in modern costume, in simplified landscapes and surrounded by light, a symbol of faith. In 1895, he received a commission for a series of seven large paintings called ''The Legend of Saint Hubert'' for the Paris home of Baron Cochin. They illustrated the story of Saint Hubert hunting in the forest of

Aquitaine Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 January ...

, seeing a vision of Christ, and being converted to Christianity. Paul Sérusier painted less Christian and more mystical scenes, particularly ''La Vision pros du torrent'' or ''The rendezvous of fairies'' (1897), showing a group of women in Breton costumes passing through the forest, carrying bouquets of flowers to a ceremony, and ''Femmes à la Source'', depicting a series of women solemnly descending through a mystical forest to a spring. This illustrates the legend of the Danaides, who in mythology were condemned to fill and refill leaking jugs of water from a spring. He painted several works of women in Breton costumes conducting pagan ceremonies in the forests of Brittany. File:Maurice Denis, 1889, Le Calvaire (Climbing to Calvary), oil on canvas, 41 x 32.5 cm, Musée d'Orsay.jpg,

, ''Le Calvaire (Climbing to Calvary)'' (1889), Musée d'Orsay File:MauriceDenis-LaLegendeDeStHubert-7LArriveeALErmitage.JPG, Maurice Denis, Final scene of the Legend of Saint Hubert (1897), Departmental Museum of Maurice Denis, Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1897) File:LES DANAÏDES OR FEMMES À LA SOURCE.PNG,

, ''Women at the Spring'', Musée d'Orsay (1898) File:Serusier-BoisSacre.jpg, Paul Sérusier, ''The Sacred Woods''

Interiors

The Nabis

and

, created particularly remarkable paintings depicting the interiors of homes, where the inhabitants of the rooms were almost entirely absorbed into the intense floral decoration and furnishings. In some of the paintings, such as Vuillard's ''The Seamstress'' and ''La Table de toilet'' (1895), or ''People in an Interior - Music'', it is difficult to even find and count the individuals in the painting.''Les Nabis et le décor'' - Musée du Luxembourg, Paris
/ref> File:Seamstress by Edouard Vuillard.jpg, Édouard Vuillard, '' The Seamstress'', (1893),

Indianapolis Museum of Art The Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) is an encyclopedic art museum located at Newfields, a campus that also houses Lilly House, The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park: 100 Acres, the Gardens at Newfields, the Beer Garden, and more. It i ...

File:Edouard Vuillard - Woman in a Striped Dress - Google Art Project.jpg, Édouard Vuillard, ''Woman in a Striped Dress'' (1895), National Gallery of Art File:Vuilllard Interior 1896.jpg, Édouard Vuillard, ''People in Interior- Music'' (1896), Petit Palais Museum, Paris File:Misia at the Piano MET DT3150.jpg, ''Misia at the Piano'' (c. 1898), Édouard Vuillard, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Women in the garden

One of the most common subjects of the Nabis was women in an idyllic garden setting, usually picking flowers or fruit. It appeared in four panels representing the seasons of a young woman's life by

(1890–91), painted for the bedroom of a young girl, and in the panels of women in the public parks of Paris by Édouard Vuillard (1894) painted for the residence of his patron Alexandre Nathanson; two paintings of women and children picking apples in an orchard by Pierre Bonnard (1894–96); and in a tapestry by Paul Ranson, ''Spring'', depicting three women picking fruit. All the images are highly stylized, often using the same serpentine forms to represent the women, the trees and the foliage. The young women in the series by Denis are shown traveling along a road, dressed in vestal white in the first painting, then in different colors as they reach maturity in the final painting. File:La barrière fleurie, Le Pouldu 1889 Paul Serusier.jpg,

, The flower barrier (1889) File:Denis-Road-of-Life.jpg, ''April'' or ''The road of life'' by

, painted for the bedroom of a young girl. (1892) File:PaulElieRanson+Spring-WomenBeneathBlossomingTrees+neddlepoint-on-canvas+1895+MuseeD'Orsay-Paris.jpg, Women picking flowers in the garden, tapestry by

(1895) File:1896 Bonnard Familie des Komponisten Claude Terrasse anagoria.JPG, The Bonnard Family in the garden, screen by

(1896)

Decorative art

One of the stated objectives of the Nabis was to break down the barriers between art and ordinary life, and in particular the distinction between art and decoration. Much of the art they created was designed specifically to be decorative, for display in salons and dining rooms. They designed screens, murals, wallpaper, tapestries, dishware, lampshades, and ornament for furniture, as well as theater decor and costume design, and graphic design for advertising posters.

, working with Art Nouveau architect

Henry Van de Velde Henry Clemens van de Velde (; 3 April 1863 – 15 October 1957) was a Belgian painter, architect, interior designer, and art theorist. Together with Victor Horta and Paul Hankar, he is considered one of the founders of Art Nouveau in Belgium.'' ...

made murals to decorate the dining room of art gallery owner

. After a visit to the United States, where he saw the stained glass designs of

Louis Comfort Tiffany Louis Comfort Tiffany (February 18, 1848 – January 17, 1933) was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art NouveauL ...

and his firm, Bing invited the Nabis to submit their own designs for Tiffany glass. Roussel, Vuillard, Vallotton, Ranson, Denis, Bonnard, and Ibels all made designs, which Bing displayed in his gallery in Paris in April 1895, along with designs of non-Nabis, including

Toulouse-Lautrec Comte Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901) was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, caricaturist and illustrator whose immersion in the colourful and theatrical life of Paris in the la ...

. In the end the windows were not made, but Maurice Denis continued to create window designs on symbolist themes, with bold designs and vivid colors. In 1895, Vuillard was commissioned to design a series of plates, which featured women in highly stylized costumes. File:Edouard Vuillard - Public Gardens - Google Art Project.jpg, Decorative screen, ''The Public Gardens'' by

(1895) File:MauriceDenis-LeCheminDeLaVie.JPG, Stained glass window, ''The Path of Life'', by

(1895) File:MauriceDenis-LEchelleDansLeFeuillage.JPG, ''The Ladder in the Foliage'' by Maurice Denis (1892), canvas on a wood panel, made for the ceiling of the home of art patron

. The same woman on the ladder is seen from four points of view. File:Edouard vuillard, piatto con donna con camicia rigata e gonna a balze, 1895.jpg, Plate depicting a woman in a striped blouse, by Édouard Vuillard (1895)

Graphic arts

Members of Les Nabis worked in a variety of media, using oils on both canvas and cardboard, and distemper on canvas and wall decoration, and they also produced posters, prints, book illustrations, textiles and furniture. Considered to be on the cutting edge of modern art during their early period, their subject matter was representational (though often

Symbolist Symbolism was a late 19th-century art movement of French and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts seeking to represent absolute truths symbolically through language and metaphorical images, mainly as a reaction against naturalism and realis ...

in inspiration), but was design-oriented along the lines of the Japanese prints they so admired, and

. However, the artists of the Nabis circle were highly influenced by the paintings of the

Impressionists Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...

, and thus while sharing the flatness, page layout, and negative space of art nouveau and other decorative modes, much of LesNabis' art has a painterly, non-realistic look, with color palettes reminiscent of Cézanne and Gauguin. Bonnard's posters and lithographs are more firmly in the Art Nouveau, or

manner. After the turn of the century, as modern art moved towards

Fauvism Fauvism /ˈfoʊvɪzm̩/ is the style of ''les Fauves'' (French language, French for "the wild beasts"), a group of early 20th-century modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong colour over the Representation (arts), repr ...

Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

Cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...

, and

Abstraction Abstraction in its main sense is a conceptual process wherein general rules and concepts are derived from the usage and classification of specific examples, literal ("real" or "concrete") signifiers, first principles, or other methods. "An abstr ...

, LesNabis were viewed as conservatives and, indeed, were among the last group of artists to stick to the roots and artistic ambitions of the Impressionists, pursuing these ends almost into the middle of the 20th century. In their later years, these painters also largely abandoned their earlier interests in decorative and applied arts. File:Les Parisiennes cph.3g10009.jpg,

, ''Les Parisiennes'' 1893,

lithograph Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

File:Vallotton pour Bing.jpg,

poster for Siegfried Bing's Gallery (1893) File:Vallotton-Raison.gif, Félix Vallotton, ''La raison probante (The Cogent Reason)'', a

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...

from the series ''Intimités'' (1898) File:Frontispiece, from the album Amours MET MM77360.jpg, Maurice Denis, Frontispiece lithograph from the series ''Amour'' (1899)

Breakup

In 1897, the Nabis were not present at the well-known

Salon des Indépendants Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

, but instead held their own exposition at the Galerie Vollard, more avant-garde than the Salon. Their final exhibition as a group took place in 1900 at the Galerie Bernheim, with works of Bonnard, Denis, Ibels, Maillol, Roussel, Sérusier, Vallotton and Vuillard. After that show, each of the artists went his separate way. Looking back in 1909, Denis described the accomplishment of the Nabis. "Art is no longer a visual sensation that we gather, like a photograph, as it were, of nature. No, it is a creation of our spirit, for which nature is only the occasion." In 1937, Vuillard described the breakup of the Nabis. "...The march of progress was so rapid. Society was ready to welcome

cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...

and

surrealism Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

before we had reached what we had imagined as our goal. We found ourselves in a way suspended in the air."

Members and associates

(1867–1947), ''le nabi très japonard'' *

(1870–1943), ''le nabi aux belles icônes'' *

Maxime Dethomas Maxime-Pierre Jules Dethomas (; October 13, 1867 – January 21, 1929) was a French painter, draughtsman, printmaker, illustrator, and was among the best known theater-set and costume designers of his era. As an artist, Dethomas was highly regarde ...

(1869–1929) * Meyer de Haan (1852–1895), ''le nabi hollandais'' * Rene Georges Hermann-Paul (1864–1940) *

Henri-Gabriel Ibels Henri-Gabriel Ibels (30 November 1867 – February 1936) was a French illustrator, printmaker, painter and author. Biography He was born in Paris and studied at the Académie Julian with Pierre Bonnard and Édouard Vuillard. He was a membe ...

(1867–1936), ''le nabi journaliste'' * Georges Lacombe (1868–1916), ''le nabi sculpteur'' *

Lugné-Poe Aurélien-Marie Lugné (27 December 1869 19 June 1940), known by his stage and pen name Lugné-Poe, was a French actor, theatre director, and scenic designer. He founded the landmark Paris theatre company, the Théâtre de l'Œuvre, which produce ...

(1869–1940) *

Aristide Maillol Aristide Joseph Bonaventure Maillol (; December 8, 1861 – September 27, 1944) was a French sculptor, painter, and printmaker.Le Normand-Romain, Antoinette . "Maillol, Aristide". ''Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online''. Oxford University P ...

(1861–1944) *

(1864–1909), ''le nabi plus japonard que le nabi japonard'' *

József Rippl-Rónai József Rippl-Rónai (23 May 1861 – 25 November 1927) was a Hungarian painter. He first introduced modern artistic movements in the Hungarian art. Biography He was born in Kaposvár. After his studies at the High School there, he went to ...

(1861–1927), ''le nabi hongrois'' *

(1867–1944) *

(1864–1927), ''le nabi à la barbe rutilante'' * Marguérite Sérusier, wife of Paul Sérusier; a notable decorative painter *

(1865–1925), ''le nabi étranger'' *

Jan Verkade Johannes Sixtus Gerhardus (Jan) Verkade (18 September 1868 - 19 July 1946), afterwards Willibrord Verkade O.S.B., was a Dutch Post-Impressionist and Christian Symbolist painter. A disciple of Paul Gauguin and friend of Paul Sérusier, he belon ...

(1868–1946), ''le nabi obéliscal'' *

(1868–1940), ''le nabi zouave'' File:115 Maurice Denis Portrait de l'artiste à l'âge de 18 ans.jpg,

, aged eighteen, in 1889 File:Édouard Vuillard 001.jpg,

, ''

Self-portrait A self-portrait is a representation of an artist that is drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by that artist. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century tha ...

'', 1889 File:Self-portrait-1889.jpg,

, ''

'', c. 1889 File:Ranson serusier.jpg,

, and Marie-France Ranson in Paul Ranson's studio, c. 1900 File:Ker-Xavier Roussel, Édouard Vuillard, Romain Coolus, Felix Vallotton 1899.jpg,

Romain Coolus René Max Weill (25 May 1868 – 9 September 1952), who used the pseudonym Romain Coolus, was a French novelist, dramatist and film scriptwriter. Biography Works Theater * 1893 : ''Le Ménage Brésile'' (first play), one-act comedy, at ...

, 1899 File:Porträt Paul Ranson.jpg, Portrait of

in Nabi costume, by

Other members of the group included the playwright Pierre Veber, the musician Pierre Hermant, and the linguist Auguste Cazalis, called (by Ranson) ''le nabi Ben Kallyre''.Many of the attributed nicknames are cited in Willibrord (Jan) Verkade, ''Die Unruhe zu Gott: Erinnerungen eines Malermönchs'', 5th Edition (Herder & Co., Freiburg im Breisgau 1930), pp.67–70.

Gallery

File:Félix Vallotton, 1893 - La Valse.jpg, ''The Waltz'',

, Museum of Modern Art Le Havre (1893) File:Valloton Frau mit Dienstmagd beim Baden.jpg,

, ''The Mistress and the Servant,'' 1896 File:Paesaggio nabi paul ranson.jpg,

, ''Nabis Landscape'', 1890 File:Georges Lacombe-1868-1946-Marine bleue, Effet de vague,circa 1893,peinture à l'oeuf sur toile,43x64,2 cm,Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rennes.jpg, Georges Lacombe, ''Marine bleue, Effet de vagues'', 1893

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * Cogeval, Guy (2015). ''Bonnard''. Paris: Hazan, Malakoff. (in French) *

External links

The Prophets of Montmartre
an article on Les Nabis by Alamantra
''Pierre Bonnard, the Graphic Art''
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which contains material on Bonnard and others in the Les Nabis collective {{DEFAULTSORT:Nabis, The French artist groups and collectives 19th-century art groups Post-Impressionism French art French art movements Art movements Académie Julian