#lesnabis — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #lesnabis, aggregated by home.social.
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"Cover for Love," Maurice Denis, 1898.
Denis (1870-1943) was first a member of the Nabis, then later a Symbolist, then later a Neo-Classicist, and his writings were a huge influence on Cubism and other modern art movements. A deeply religious man, he founded (after WWI) an artists' collective dedicated to decorating churches, designing stained glass windows, and producing sacred art.
In the 1890s, though, he was all about decorative art. This piece is the cover to a book of lithographs that tell an ambiguous tale of a woman's experiences with love...but it's hard to tell if she's falling in love with a man, or with Nature, or with her faith. The images are all soft and dreamlike, anc contain snatches of poetry, but the quotes do not correspond to the scenes depicted.
Between the wars, he also became a noted muralist, doing many murals in public buildings around his favorite themes, his faith and his belief in peace and humanism. He was a fervent anti-Nazi, and rejected France's Vichy government. It took an automobile accident to take him down; he was seemingly unstoppable.
He's not a familiar name, but he was an important figure in the development of modern art.
From the Art Institute of Chicago.
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"The Bath," Felix Vallotton, 1894.
Swiss-born painter, writer, and printmaker Vallotton (1865-1925) was a member of my favorite art movement, the Nabis,, but also an important figure in bringing woodcuts to the modern age.
His early work was very detailed, but in the 1890s he began to explore using simple black-and-white coloring and opting for outlines and blocks of shade, rather than detail....which the Nabis encouraged.
His woodcuts could contain elements of social satire and commentary, although none of that seems evident here. Other woodcuts showed assorted domestic scenes, images of couples (possibly in clandestine affairs), portraits that bordered on caricature, and a number of images of anarchist street demonstrations. He also did a number of prints as book illustrations and theater programs.
After the Nabis drifted apart in 1900, he stuck to painting, with great success, but thanks to him, other printmakers began to experiment with woodcuts, bringing into a new century.
From the Clark, Williamstown, MA.
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"The Bath," Felix Vallotton, 1894.
Swiss-born painter, writer, and printmaker Vallotton (1865-1925) was a member of my favorite art movement, the Nabis,, but also an important figure in bringing woodcuts to the modern age.
His early work was very detailed, but in the 1890s he began to explore using simple black-and-white coloring and opting for outlines and blocks of shade, rather than detail....which the Nabis encouraged.
His woodcuts could contain elements of social satire and commentary, although none of that seems evident here. Other woodcuts showed assorted domestic scenes, images of couples (possibly in clandestine affairs), portraits that bordered on caricature, and a number of images of anarchist street demonstrations. He also did a number of prints as book illustrations and theater programs.
After the Nabis drifted apart in 1900, he stuck to painting, with great success, but thanks to him, other printmakers began to experiment with woodcuts, bringing into a new century.
From the Clark, Williamstown, MA.
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"The Bath," Felix Vallotton, 1894.
Swiss-born painter, writer, and printmaker Vallotton (1865-1925) was a member of my favorite art movement, the Nabis,, but also an important figure in bringing woodcuts to the modern age.
His early work was very detailed, but in the 1890s he began to explore using simple black-and-white coloring and opting for outlines and blocks of shade, rather than detail....which the Nabis encouraged.
His woodcuts could contain elements of social satire and commentary, although none of that seems evident here. Other woodcuts showed assorted domestic scenes, images of couples (possibly in clandestine affairs), portraits that bordered on caricature, and a number of images of anarchist street demonstrations. He also did a number of prints as book illustrations and theater programs.
After the Nabis drifted apart in 1900, he stuck to painting, with great success, but thanks to him, other printmakers began to experiment with woodcuts, bringing into a new century.
From the Clark, Williamstown, MA.
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"The Bath," Felix Vallotton, 1894.
Swiss-born painter, writer, and printmaker Vallotton (1865-1925) was a member of my favorite art movement, the Nabis,, but also an important figure in bringing woodcuts to the modern age.
His early work was very detailed, but in the 1890s he began to explore using simple black-and-white coloring and opting for outlines and blocks of shade, rather than detail....which the Nabis encouraged.
His woodcuts could contain elements of social satire and commentary, although none of that seems evident here. Other woodcuts showed assorted domestic scenes, images of couples (possibly in clandestine affairs), portraits that bordered on caricature, and a number of images of anarchist street demonstrations. He also did a number of prints as book illustrations and theater programs.
After the Nabis drifted apart in 1900, he stuck to painting, with great success, but thanks to him, other printmakers began to experiment with woodcuts, bringing into a new century.
From the Clark, Williamstown, MA.
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"The Bath," Felix Vallotton, 1894.
Swiss-born painter, writer, and printmaker Vallotton (1865-1925) was a member of my favorite art movement, the Nabis,, but also an important figure in bringing woodcuts to the modern age.
His early work was very detailed, but in the 1890s he began to explore using simple black-and-white coloring and opting for outlines and blocks of shade, rather than detail....which the Nabis encouraged.
His woodcuts could contain elements of social satire and commentary, although none of that seems evident here. Other woodcuts showed assorted domestic scenes, images of couples (possibly in clandestine affairs), portraits that bordered on caricature, and a number of images of anarchist street demonstrations. He also did a number of prints as book illustrations and theater programs.
After the Nabis drifted apart in 1900, he stuck to painting, with great success, but thanks to him, other printmakers began to experiment with woodcuts, bringing into a new century.
From the Clark, Williamstown, MA.
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"Work Table," Pierre Bonnard, 1926/37.
I love Bonnard, and I love the Nabis.
The Nabis, if you've missed my gushing about them before, were an art movement that was a transition from Impressionism to more modern, abstract art. The Nabis were also fond of intimate scenes of everyday life and objects, just as they are, and presented with loving care and focus.
I love this work table, scattered with books and papers, and the cat and dog sitting on the couch. Bonnard began this painting in 1926, but then revisited it in 1937 to fine-tune the rosettes on the rug, which is why it has such an odd date.
A work table like this is a sign of an active and busy mind, right?
From the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.
#Art #LesNabis #PierreBonnard #Intimism #CatsOfMastodon #DogsOfMastodon
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"Work Table," Pierre Bonnard, 1926/37.
I love Bonnard, and I love the Nabis.
The Nabis, if you've missed my gushing about them before, were an art movement that was a transition from Impressionism to more modern, abstract art. The Nabis were also fond of intimate scenes of everyday life and objects, just as they are, and presented with loving care and focus.
I love this work table, scattered with books and papers, and the cat and dog sitting on the couch. Bonnard began this painting in 1926, but then revisited it in 1937 to fine-tune the rosettes on the rug, which is why it has such an odd date.
A work table like this is a sign of an active and busy mind, right?
From the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.
#Art #LesNabis #PierreBonnard #Intimism #CatsOfMastodon #DogsOfMastodon
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"Pot of Flowers," Édouard Vuillard, c. 1900-01.
Vuillard and his Nabi cohorts are great favorites of mine. I take great delight in Vuillard's work; his love of pattern and skill in depicting it appeal to me greatly. I remember just standing in awe in front of one of his paintings at the Met, to the point that the security guards were starting to eye me suspiciously...
The Nabis loved intimate scenes, and this fits. What's a standout is that this isn't a formally arranged still life...it's just a scene from his studio, painted as is, almost like a casual photograph.
First #FlowerFriday of 2025!
From the National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh.
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"A Plate of Strawberries," Pierre Bonnard, 1922.
Bonnard (1867-1947) was a Nabi, so by default he's one of my favorite artists. And here he gives us a great example of Nabi art at its best, an intimate everyday scene depicted with great care to the point it seems of cosmic importance. Here, it's just a simple plate of strawberries on a white tabletop.
Spring is getting ready to knock down the door and force its way in here...and strawberry season won't be far behind...
From a private collection.
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"A Plate of Strawberries," Pierre Bonnard, 1922.
Bonnard (1867-1947) was a Nabi, so by default he's one of my favorite artists. And here he gives us a great example of Nabi art at its best, an intimate everyday scene depicted with great care to the point it seems of cosmic importance. Here, it's just a simple plate of strawberries on a white tabletop.
Spring is getting ready to knock down the door and force its way in here...and strawberry season won't be far behind...
From a private collection.
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"Interior with Woman in Red," Felix Vallotton, 1903.
Vallotton (1865-1925) was part of my favorite art movement, the Nabis. A group of post-Impressionist artists who embraced intimate scenes and being pleasant and decorative as well as being beautiful, I find them criminally overlooked, as well as just gorgeous to behold, while being comforting at the same time.
While this has a lovely vista and glimpse into everyday life, it's also interesting as the woman is Vallotton's wife Gabrielle and the rooms are in fact in the Vallotton household. He lovingly depicts a moment in time...the house isn't idealized and perfect, but slightly mussed, with clothes draped on furniture, and the bed maybe unmade, but it's obvious these rooms mean a lot to him.
Vallotton was also an art critic, novelist, and printmaker; I've features some of his prints before. He was a major influence in woodblock printing today.
From the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC.
#Art #LesNabis #Nabi #FelixVallotton #Interior #PostImpressionism
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"The Visit," Felix Vallotton, 1899.
Love me some Nabis. Vallotton was a Nabi and created interior scenes that could have come from a Hitchcock film, or prefiguring Edward Hopper. The couple embracing could be about to go into a bedroom...or perhaps they're being quiet and furtive, not wanting to be heard by someone in the next room?
A lot of us will be visiting relatives soon...I'm sure it won't be as dramatic as this!
From the Kunsthaus Zürich.