Les Nabis

Pierre Bonnard, “The Letter”, 1906, National Gallery of Art at Washington D.C. (click photo for larger image)Les Nabis were a group of Post-Impressionist artists and illustrators in Paris who became very influential in the field of graphic art. Their emphasis on design was shared by the parallel Art Nouveau movement. Both groups also had close ties to the Symbolist painters. The core of Les Nabis was Pierre Bonnard, Maurice Denis and Edouard Vuillard.

Pierre Bonnard - Exquisite Taste in Dazzling Light and Color

Pierre Bonnard - The Letter, 1906, National Gallery of Art at Washington D.C. (click photo for larger image)The French painter and printmaker, Pierre Bonnard (1867-1946) was a member of the group of artists called the “Nabis.” They believed that a work of art reflects an artist’s synthesis of nature into personal aesthetic metaphors and symbols. The Nabis were heavily influenced by Japanese woodcuts, the works of the French Symbolists, and English Pre-Raphaelite art. Bonnard e is generally regarded as one of the greatest colorists of modern art--used to represent intimate, sunlit domestic interiors, as well as still-life paintings.

Pierre Bonnard. The White Cat, 1894. oil on canvas. Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France