An invitation to the colorful, dynamic world of the Nabis, a circle of Post-Impressionist avant-garde artists whose members, including Bonnard and Vuillard, celebrated both everyday life and the decorative arts.
Inspired by Paul Gauguin in the last decade of the 19th century, the Nabis saw themselves as prophets of a new art. This vibrant illustrated book, accompanying a major exhibition at The Phillips Collection, showcases rarely seen paintings, prints, and decorative arts by the visionary artists associated with the Nabis--Pierre Bonnard, Maurice Denis, Henri Evenepoel, Aristide Maillol, Paul Ranson, Ker-Xavier Roussel, Félix Vallotton, Édouard Vuillard, and others.
Essays by leading scholars of European modernism explore the group's work from diverse perspectives, such as the relationship between art and intimacy, the influence of Symbolist poetry and literature, and techniques of Nabi printmaking. New scholarship and interdisciplinary perspectives examine their artistic philosophies, collaborations, and creative methods and offer rich insights into how the Nabis worked across diverse media--stained glass, ceramics, and needlepoint as well as printmaking and painting--to break down the artificial barriers between the fine and decorative arts.This important volume significantly enriches the understanding of the Nabis' lasting contribution to the history of modern art.
