Formed in Paris in 1888 by young rebel painters inspired by Paul Gauguin's radical use of flat, non-naturalistic color, The Nabis (derived from the Hebrew word for "prophets") revolutionized the relationship between fine art and domestic space. Led by Maurice Denis, Pierre Bonnard, Édouard Vuillard, and Paul Sérusier, the group declared that easel painting was dead, pioneering decorative folding screens, stained glass, tapestries, and theatrical stage decors that transformed everyday bourgeois homes into intimate sacred sanctuaries.
1. Maurice Denis's Golden Axiom: The Birth of Modernism
In 1890, twenty-year-old Maurice Denis published the most famous definition in modern art theory in the journal Art et Critique:
"Remember that a picture, before being a battle horse, a nude woman, or some anecdote, is essentially a flat surface covered with colors assembled in a certain order."
This single sentence demolished centuries of Renaissance perspective and illusionistic shading, establishing that painting was fundamentally an arrangement of decorative colored shapes upon a two-dimensional surface.
2. Folding Screens, Intimism & Decorative Suites
The Nabis took art off cold museum walls and embedded it directly into the functional furniture of the living room:
The Four-Panel Folding Screen (Paravent)
Pierre Bonnard and Édouard Vuillard produced magnificent four-panel folding screens (such as Bonnard's The Promenade of the Nanny Cabs and Vuillard's The Public Gardens). Painted in distemper on canvas or cardboard, these movable screens acted as flexible architectural room dividers, wrapping domestic life in patterned wallpapers, checked tablecloths, and lush Parisian park vistas.
3. The Historic 1895 Alliance with Henry van de Velde
In December 1895, art dealer Siegfried Bing opened his epoch-making gallery Maison de l'Art Nouveau at 22 Rue de Provence in Paris. This was the defining international exhibition that gave the Art Nouveau movement its name.
Bing brought together two vanguard forces: The Nabis (Bonnard, Vuillard, and Denis, who designed stained glass windows fabricated by Louis Comfort Tiffany and painted decorative room panels) and Belgian architect Henry van de Velde, who designed four complete furnished living interiors. Van de Velde and the Nabis formed an immediate bond of artistic brotherhood, united in their conviction that true modern art must abolish the academic hierarchy between "high art" painting and "lowly" decorative furniture.
4. Comparative Dialectic: The Nabis vs. Henry van de Velde
Both movements sought the total decorative transformation of the domestic interior:
| Creative Principle | The Nabis (Bonnard, Vuillard & Denis) | Henry van de Velde (Gesamtkunstwerk Architecture) |
|---|---|---|
| Decorative Medium | Folding screens, decorative wall murals, distemper panels, ceramic plates, lithographic posters. | The complete architectural environment: custom built-in furniture, lighting fixtures, hardware, structural masonry. |
| Spatial Atmosphere | Intimisme: cozy, dimly lit domestic parlors, overlapping textile patterns, psychological warmth. | Luminous rational clarity: sweeping kinetic force lines (Linienkunst), open structural daylighting. |
| Color Sensibility | Gauguin-inspired flat planes of ochre, mauve, patterned wallpaper motifs, velvety muted tones. | Harmonious organic materials: polished natural hardwoods, honest stone, patinated brass and silver. |
| Siegfried Bing 1895 Role | Designed stained glass windows (fabricated by Tiffany) and decorative boudoir friezes. | Designed four full architectural show-interiors that made Van de Velde an international sensation. |
"There is no longer a division between decorative art and easel painting. Art is a harmonious ensemble designed to elevate the intimate sanctuary of the home."
— Maurice Denis (Théories, 1890-1910)Fine Art Authentication & Archival Advisory
Whether authenticating nineteenth-century post-impressionist drawings, rare lithographic prints, exhibition catalogues from the Brussels vanguard collective Les XX, or private estate holdings, the Henry van de Velde Digital Archive & Estate Desk provides rigorous scholarly provenance examination.