Nabis (näbē`) [Heb.,=prophets], a group of artists in France active during the 1890s. Paul Sérusier Sérusier, Paul (pōl sār
..... Click the link for more information. and Maurice Denis Denis, Maurice (môrēs` dənē`), 1870–1943, French painter and writer on art.
..... Click the link for more information. were the principal theorists of the group. Outstanding members were Édouard Vuillard Vuillard, Édouard (ādwär` vüēyär`), 1868–1940, French painter and lithographer; a member of the Nabis .
..... Click the link for more information. , Pierre Bonnard Bonnard, Pierre (pyĕr bônärd`), 1867–1947, French painter, lithographer, and illustrator.
..... Click the link for more information. , Aristide Maillol Maillol, Aristide (ärēstēd` mäyôl`), 1861–1944, French sculptor, woodcut artist, and painter.
..... Click the link for more information. , Félix Vallotton Vallotton, Félix (fālēks` välətôN`), 1865–1925, Swiss woodcut artist and painter.
..... Click the link for more information. , and the lesser known Ker Xavier Roussel. The group held its first exhibition in 1892. Influenced by Gauguin Gauguin, Paul (pôl gōgăN`), 1848–1903, French painter and woodcut artist, b.
..... Click the link for more information. , the Nabis developed a style characterized by flat areas of boldly juxtaposed but muted colors and heavily outlined surface patterns. They were unified by the decorative character of their work and their dislike of impressionism impressionism, in painting, late-19th-century French school that was generally characterized by the attempt to depict transitory visual impressions, often painted directly from nature, and by the use of pure, broken color to achieve brilliance and luminosity.
..... Click the link for more information. . After a successful show in 1899, the group gradually disbanded.

Bibliography

See study by C. Chassé (tr. 1969).

Nabis

(from Hebrew navi, “prophet” or “seer”) Group of French artists who paved the way for the development of abstract art in the early 20th century. The Nabis preached that a work of art is the visual expression of an artist's synthesis of nature and his or her personal aesthetic. They were influenced by Paul Gauguin and the Pont-Aven school, as well as by Japanese woodcuts, Symbolist painting, and the Pre-Raphaelites. Paul Sérusier (1865–1927), the group's founder, painted the first Nabi work, Landscape at the Bois d'Amour at Pont-Aven (also called Talisman; 1888). Original members included Pierre Bonnard and Édouard Vuillard; a later member was Aristide Maillol.