LES NABİS

(1891-1899)

• REPRESENTER: Pierre Bonnard, Ker Xavier Roussel, Felix Vallotton, Maurice Denis, Edouard Vuillard, Maxime Dethomas, Meyer de Haan, Rene Geoeges Hermann- Paul, Henri- Gabriel Ibels, George Lacombe, Aristde Maillol, Paul Ranson, Jozsef Rippl-Ronai, Paul Serusier, Felix Vallotton, Jan Verkade and Edouard Vuillard.
• Les Nabis were a group of Post-Impressionist artists and illustrators in Paris who became very influential in the field of graphic art in France in the 1890s.
• Most of grup members studied at the private school of Rodolpe Julian in Paris in the late 18880.
• Their emphasis on design was shared by the parallel Art Nouveau movement. Both groups  also had close ties to the Symbolist painters. 
• Les Nabis originated as a rebellious group of young student artists who banded together at the Académie Julian
• Les Nabis regarded themselves as initiates, and used a private vocabulary. They called a studio ergasterium, and ended their letters with the initials E.T.P.M.V. et M.P., meaning "En ta paume, mon verbe et ma pensée" ("In the palm of your hand, my word and my thoughts.")
• Les Nabis artists worked in a variety of media, using oils on both canvas and cardboard, distemper on canvas and wall decoration, and also produced posters, prints, book illustration, textiles and furniture.
• The artists of this circle were highly influenced by the paintings of the impressionists, and thus while sharing the flatness, page layout and negative space of art nouveau and other decorative modes, much of Nabis art has a painterly, non-realistic look, with color palettes often reminding one of Cézanne and Gauguin. 
• After the turn of the century, as modern art moved towards abstraction, expressionism, cubism, etc., the Nabis 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.

 Fellix Vallatton
The Mistress and Servant
 (1896)

Pierre Bonnard 
The Dining room in the Country
(1913)




 

 Meyer de Haan 
Maternity : Mary Henry Breastfeeding
(1890)