15 Facts About Les Nabis

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 and academic art to abstract art, symbolism and the other early movements of modernism.

Les Nabis took their name from a Hebrew 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 and the way the ancient prophets had rejuvenated Israel.

Les Nabis were a group of young artists of the Academie Julian in Paris, who wanted to transform the foundations of art.

The students called this first Les Nabis painting The Talisman, and it eventually became an icon of 20th-century art.

Les Nabis wrote, "The profoundness of our emotions comes from the sufficiency of these lines and these colors to explain themselves.

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In 1892, the Les Nabis branched out into the theatrical world and the decorative arts.

Les Nabis held a group exhibition in Toulouse in June 1894, and the following year presented their work in Siegfried Bing's Maison de l'Art Nouveau, the famous gallery which had given its name to the Art Nouveau movement.

Les Nabis 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.

Les Nabis were influenced by the literature, music and theater of the symbolist movement, and, among some of the Les Nabis, there was a strong current of mysticism and esotericism.

Les Nabis 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.

Les Nabis painted several works of women in Breton costumes conducting pagan ceremonies in the forests of Brittany.

One of the most common subjects of the Les Nabis was women in an idyllic garden setting, usually picking flowers or fruit.

One of the stated objectives of the Les Nabis was to break down the barriers between art and ordinary life, and in particular the distinction between art and decoration.

However, the artists of the Nabis 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 LesNabis' art has a painterly, non-realistic look, with color palettes reminiscent of Cezanne and Gauguin.

In 1897, the Les Nabis were not present at the well-known Salon des Independants, but instead held their own exposition at the Galerie Vollard, more avant-garde than the Salon.