GAUGUIN AND THE NABIS: PROPHETS OF MODERNISM. by Ellridge, Arthur - 1995

Paris: Terrail, 1995. 223 pp, 4to (11 13/16" H). 164 colour reproductions. "Gauguin, the leading figure of the Pont-Even group, inspired the Nabis through his influence on the young painter Paul Serusier. In the Breton village where they spent the summer of 1888, Serusier, under Gauguin's direction, painted a landscape in pure colours that verged on the abstract. When they returned to Paris and showed the picture to their friends, Maurice Denis, Vallotton, Vuillard and Bonnard, the effect was so magical that it became known as 'The Talisman'. The painting was at odds with the academic teaching of the time and they saw it as a veritable revelation; hence the name 'Nabis' from 'Nebiim', Hebrew for prophet. (This book) traces the genesis of this revelation in the context of a survey of the intellectual and artistic climate in Paris at the turn of the century, a period that also embraced Symbolism, Japonism, and the originality of a group of artists whose common characteristic was the will to apply the modernist ideal in every art form, including poster design, theatre programmes and stage sets." This is a heavy volume which may require extra postage, depending on destination. Interior - very light rub line on first few pages, otherwise clean and tight with no other ownership marks. Exterior - very light rubbing, small corner crease and soft crease on rear cover.. Soft Cover with Self Flaps. Very Good.