Nabis by Mabel Garcia

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ART HISTORY 4450 Nabis

Nabis •

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term: “Nabis” (Hebrew for “prophets”) – refers both to wisdom of ancient sages and to notion of youthful seekers – not extremist in their views; did not use group’s title in public – “purified”  only in the sense that they rejected a salaried existence formation of group: 1888 – upon Paul Sérusier’s return to Paris, after meeting Gauguin in Brittany – causes active debate among students @ Julian Academy • devise secret language, w/ codes and knick-names, in order to set them apart from other students – “pelichtim”  uninitiated bourgeoisie aim: to be open to all philosophies and religions themes: Impressionist/Post-Impressionist interest in everyday life aesthetic: avant garde – considered outrageous, daub-like & incomprehensible – a kind of latter-day Impressionism postscript: after Gauguin's departure to Tahiti (c. 1891) – group gradually fell apart – members developed separately in different stylistic directions

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Paul Sérusier (1864-1927) • • •

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biography: Parisian upper middle-class training: Julian Academy influence: meets Gauguin & receives lessons while in Brittany (1888) returns to Paris: forms Nabis group returns to Brittany: summer of 1892 – subjects  peasants (solid, monumental figures) – no longer uses pure colors (toned down w/ gray) Benedictine monastery: Germany 1895 – joins monk-artists – aesthetic principles • mysteriously hidden in nature • only revealed to artists able to perceive proportions and harmony of sizes • measurement, number and weight of Holy Spirit

Sérusier

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The Talisman (1888) – painted on a cigar-box lid – aesthetic: response to Gauguin • unmodulated areas of pure color • release from constraints of imitative [naturalistic] painting • exaggerate impressions of natural world • unique, decorative logic & symbolic system – color: complimentary – brushwork: crude; patchy

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(Left) SÉRUSIER’s Nabis Breton Wrestling (1890) vs. GAUGUIN’s Post-Impressionist Jacob Wrestling w/ Angel (1888)

(Left) SÉRUSIER’s Nabis Downpour (1893) vs. (right) CAILLEBOTTE’s Impressionist Paris: A Rainy Day (1877)

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SÉRUSIER’s The Daughters of Pelichtim (1908)

Maurice Denis (1870 -1943) •

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training: – classical education (Lycée Condorcet, where he met Vuillard) – while studying @ Lycée, took drawing lessons and copied paintings by Old Masters – enrolled at Académie Julian and then Ecole des Beaux-Arts (1888) aesthetic: reacts against naturalistic tendencies of Impressionism affiliation: joins Nabis in 1890 significance: theoretician credo: “Essentially a picture is a flat surface covered with colors assembled in a certain order”

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Denis •

Splash of Sun (1890) –

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aesthetic: response to Sérusier’s interpretation of Gauguin • areas of pure, unmodulated color • release from constraints of imitative [naturalistic] painting • exaggerate impressions of natural world • unique, decorative logic & symbolic system forms: abstract perspective: vaguely recognizable • linear • aerial color: complimentary brushwork: crude; patchy

Denis

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Regatta (1892) – – – – – – –

theme: leisure time setting: outdoors aesthetic: stylized decorativeness: non-naturalistic, swirling motifs brushwork: unrefined figures: volume flattened by large areas of unmodulated color perspective: influence of Japanese woodcuts • vertical orientation • non-traditional view looking down upon figures and scene • forms logically smaller in scale, as scene recedes

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(Left) DENIS’ Jacob and the Angel (1893) vs. (right) GAUGUIN’sVision After the Sermon; or Jacob Wrestling with the Angel (1888)

Denis •

Mother and Child (1895) – – – – –

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theme: domestic setting: indoors aesthetic: stylized decorativeness: vertical motif of stripes figures: volume flattened by patterns vs. volumetric, idealized facial features perspective: influence of Japanese woodcuts • vertical orientation • complex spatial arrangement of rooms • forms logically smaller in scale, as scene recedes

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Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947) •

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biography: upper-bourgeoisie – father  high-ranking official in French War Ministry – entered University of Paris to study law in 1886 training: – 1886: evening classes @ Académie Julian – 1888: Ecole des Beaux-Arts early success: poster commissions exhibition history: – 1891: • met Toulouse-Lautrec; begins to exhibit at Salon des Indépendants • took part in first exhibition of the Nabis – 1896: Galerie Durand-Ruel – 1938: major exhibition w/ Vuillard's at Art Institute of Chicago – 1948: posthumous retrospective @ MoMA

Bonnard’s poster illustrations: (Left) France-Champagne (1891) and (right) La Revue Blanche

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Bonnard •

Woman with Dog (1892) – – – – – –

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theme: domestic leisure aesthetic: stylized brushwork: daubs of paint forms: est. by use of dark contour composition: forms cropped perspective: influence of Japanese woodcuts • vertical orientation • non-traditional view looking down upon figures and scene • forms logically smaller in scale, as scene recedes decorativeness: • patterns of fabric (checkered & polka dots) flatten volumes figures: less volumetric light/shadow: absent as a formal element

Bonnard’s four-panel Panneaux (c. 1892-98)

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Édouard Vuillard (1868-1940) • •

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biography: military upbringing education: – attends same high school as Denis – meets Bonnard @ Ecole des BeauxArts career: joins Nabis in 1888 – shares studio w/ Bonnard & Denis exhibition history: post-Nabis – Salon des Indépendants (1901) – Salon d'Automne (1903) themes: domestic interiors – precedent est. by Dutch 17C realists – carried forward in FR during 18C Rococo (e.g., Watteau, Chardin) settings: emphasis on décor • wallpaper • fabric textures & patterns • clutter

Vuillard

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Misia and Vallatton (1894) – – – –

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theme: domestic interior (genre) aesthetic: stylized brushwork: daubs of paint décor: cacophony of patterns • wallpaper • fabrics • clutter forms: built up from paint, rather than outlined by contour figures: volume flattened by large areas of unmodulated color light/shadow: absent as a formal element spatial order: 2-d but for overlapping

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Vuillard

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The Striped Blouse (1895) – – – –

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theme: flower arrangement (genre) aesthetic: stylized brushwork: daubs of paint decor: cacophony of patterns • wallpaper • fabrics • clutter forms: built up from paint, rather than outlined by contour figures: volume flattened light/shadow: golden hue • absent as a formal element spatial order: 2-d but for overlapping

Vuillard’s Interior: Sitting Room with Three Lamps (1899)

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Félix Vallotton (1865-1925) • • • •

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biography: Swiss; moves to Paris at age seventeen (17) training: Academie Julian affiliation: member of Nabis since 1892 medium: woodcuts – inspired by Japanese color woodcuts (exhibited at École des Beaux-Arts in 1890) • flat space • tipped perspective • use of pattern – exploits contrast of black ink and white of the paper – emphasizes outline and flat patterns – no use for gradations and modeling traditionally produced by hatching themes: social issues – street crowds & demonstrations – domestic tone: sardonic humor

Vallotton’s The Anarchist (c. 1895)

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Vallotton’s The Protest (c. 1895)

(Left) VALLOTTON’s The Downpour (c. 1895) vs. (right) SÉRUSIER’s Nabis Downpour (1893)

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(Left) VALLOTTON’s Indolence (c. 1895) vs. (right) BONNARD’s Indolence (c. 1895)

IMAGE INDEX • •

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Photograph of Paul Sérusier. SÉRUSIER. The Talisman (1888), Oil on wood. 27 x 21.5 cm., Musée d'Orsay, Paris, FR. (Left) SÉRUSIER’s Nabis Breton Wrestling (1890), Oil on canvas, 92 x 73 cm., Musée d'Orsay, Paris, FR; and (right) GAUGUIN’s Post-Impressionist Jacob Wrestling with the Angel (1888), Oil on canvas, 28 3/4 x 36 1/4 in., National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh. (Left) SÉRUSIER’s Downpour (1893), Oil on canvas. 73.5 x 53.5. Musée d'Orsay, Paris, FR; and (right) CAILLEBOTTE’s Impressionist Paris: A Rainy Day (1877), Oil on canvas, 83 1/2 x 108 ¾ in., The Art Institute of Chicago. SÉRUSIER. The Daughters of Pelichtim (1908), Oil on canvas. 100 x 162 cm. Musée d'Orsay, Paris, FR. Photograph of Maurice Denis.

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IMAGE INDEX •

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DENIS. Splash of Sun on the Terrace (1890), Oil on canvas, 24 x 20.5 cm., Musée d'Orsay, Paris. DENIS. Regatta at Perros (1892), Oil on canvas, 41 x 32 cm., Private collection. (Left) DENIS’ Jacob's Battle with the Angel (1893), Oil on canvas, 48 x 36 cm., Private collection; and (right) GAUGUIN’s Post-Impressionist Jacob Wrestling with the Angel (1888). DENIS. Mother and Child (c. 1890s), Oil on canvas, 46.5 x 39 cm., The Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia. BONNARD. Self-Portrait (1889), Tempera on canvas, 21.5 x 15.8 cm., Private collection. BONNARD’s (left) France-Champagne (1891), lithigraph in three colors; and (right) La Revue blanche (The White Review) (1894), Lithographed poster, 31 3/4 x 24 3/8 in., MoMA, New York.

IMAGE INDEX •

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BONNARD. Woman with Dog (1891), Oil on canvas, 40 x 32 cm., Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute at Williamstown, MA. BONNARD. Woman in a Polka-Dot Dress (1892-98); Sitting Woman with a Cat (1892-98); Woman in a Checkered Dress (1892-98); Woman in a Blue Pelerine (1892-98), Oil on canvas, Four-panel Panneaux, Private collection; Oil on canvas, Four-panel Panneaux, Private collection. BONNARD. Indolence (1899), Oil on canvas, 92 x 108 cm., Private collection. VUILLARD. Octagonal Self-Portrait (c. 1890), Oil on cardboard, 36 x 28 cm., Private collection. VUILLARD. Misia and Vallotton (1894), Oil on canvas, Collection of Mr. & Mrs. William Kelly Simpson, New York.

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IMAGE INDEX •

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VUILLARD. The Striped Blouse (1895), Oil on canvas. 65 x 58 cm., National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. VUILLARD. Sitting Room with Three Lamps (1899), Oil on paper glued on canvas, 60 x 96 cm., Private collection. VALLOTTON. Self Portrait (c. 1895), woodcut. VALLOTTON. The Anarchist (c. 1895), Woodcut, 17.6 x 27 cm., Cleveland Museum of Art. VALLOTTON. The Protest (1893), Woodcut, 17.6 x 27 cm., Cleveland Museum of Art. (Left) VALLOTTON’s The Downpour (c. 1895), Woodcut, 17.6 x 27 cm., Cleveland Museum of Art; and (right) SÉRUSIER’s Downpour (1893). (Left) VALLOTTON’s Indolence (c. 1895) vs. (right) BONNARD’s Indolence (c. 1895).