Most art historians tend to place the Les Nabis group in a much larger series of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artists, who wanted to change European and later world wide through bold experiments, an almost violent rupture from the structures of the past, strong colours, intense lines, avantgarde views. Les Nabis were actually a very important artistic group, which started as a group of close friends and became an influential name and presence in the last part of the 19th century - the beginning of the 20th.
Les Nabis began as a group of several friends, drawn towards new art, new music, new literature, who worked for their own pleasure, painted or wrote as a hobby, sometimes engaged in long, complicated talks. Most of them had met at the Academie Julian. It was the 1880s and after Impressionism had struck and forever changed to way the public perceived art, but the time had come for another movement to bring something new. Some called them avantgarde, other called them Post-Impressionist, but surely one of the most important representatives were the members of Les Nabis.
It is interesting to learn that the name actually meant "The Prophets", inspired by the Hebrew word. The center of the group proved to be Paul Serusier, who managed to bring them all together. They were influenced strongly by the art of Paul Gauguin, and wanted to be a reaction to Impressionism. Some of the artists who were a part of Les Nabis were Pierre Bonnard, Edouard Vuillard, Maurice Denis, Henri-Gabriel Ibels, Aristide Maillol, Felix Vallotton and so on. Unlike many other art groups, Le Nablis considered themselves to be somewhat of a secret society, coined a secret language, codes, used code-names and passwords, also tried to fill their compositions with hidden meanings.
They wanted a form of art that would by synthetic, that would combine all that the artist knew into a single form, they were a foreshadowing of abstract art which will dominate the first part of the next century. Le Nabis were an important part of the avantgarde, an d starting with 1890 they exhibited several of their works in public shows, with a surprising success. They were new, they were bold, they caught the eye of art critics and collectors, but by 1896 everything was over. As the moment passed and the personalities collided, Les Nabis was drawing to an end.
Most of the formers members enjoyed successful career of their own, others gave up art, but much to their surprise their work and presence proved to be highly influential later, upon younger generations of artists, who wanted to follow in their footsteps. Les Nabis weren't the only ones, they weren't the single best Post-Impressionists, but surely left their mark on art history.
September 2008
