GROUP EXHIBITION

Key works include Felix Vallotton’s oil on canvas ‘Baigneuses au clair de lune’, 1893, a nocturnal scene of bathers in moonlight stands out for its sense of mystery and introspection, and Paul Sérusier’s ‘Bretonne allaitant’, 1892, which captures the untouched, raw beauty of the Brittany region and a scene in the rural life of its inhabitants. Sérusier spearheaded the foundation of the artistic brotherhood after spending time in Brittany with Paul Gauguin over the late summer of 1888. Sérusier returned to Brittany several times over the next few summers, and his painting ‘Bretonne allaitant’, 1892 provides an important reminder of this critical relationship and the origin story of the group. The Nabis, with a plurality of interests and approaches, created not only pictures but also graphic, theatrical, interior and industrial designs, exploring their ideas from many angles. Maurice Denis created many studies for his designs of this kind, including ‘Au pont du Nord, un bal était donné (étude pour un abat-jour)’, 1894, on view here, which was selected for shows at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam and the Grand Palais in Paris.

This reappraisal at Frieze Masters of Nabi painters is timely, against the backdrop of a decisive move among today’s painters toward figurative painting. Peter Doig, Mamma Andersson, David Hockney and Ian Davenport have explicitly referenced their influence by members of the group, while a flurry of recent scholarship around the Nabis has revealed their enduringly modern approach that goes beyond their contribution to decorative art.