Les Nabis Biography

Les Nabis (‘the prophets’) was a group of artists who came together in Paris around 1888 and remained active through the 1890s. Inspired by Paul Gauguin and Japanese prints, they used simplified shapes, strong outlines and areas of expressive colour rather than attempting to reproduce the visible world exactly.

The group produced paintings, prints, posters, book illustrations, theatre designs and decorative art. Paul Sérusier’s small landscape The Talisman became an early touchstone. Membership was fluid, with a central circle of painters and a wider network of artists who participated in their ideas and activities.

Artists and participants

Principal members

• Pierre Bonnard (1867–1947)
• Maurice Denis (1870–1943)
• Henri-Gabriel Ibels (1867–1936)
• Paul Ranson (1861–1909)
• Ker-Xavier Roussel (1867–1944)
• Paul Sérusier (1864–1927)
• Félix Vallotton (1865–1925)
• Édouard Vuillard (1868–1940)

Other members and closely associated artists

• Georges Lacombe (1868–1916)
• Aristide Maillol (1861–1944)
• Armand Séguin (1869–1903)
• Mogens Ballin (1871–1914)
• József Rippl-Rónai (1861–1927)
• Jan Verkade (1868–1946)
• René Piot (1869–1934)