Abstract

The Nabis represent a long forgotten chapter in the vibrant history of fin-de-siècle French art and culture. Building on the «idealist» and symbolist achievements of Gauguin, these painters adopted a critical stance towards naturalism and impressionism that eventually led to different artistic outputs. This article examines theoretically and historically the anti-Kantianism of two Nabis – the catholic Maurice Denis and the anarchist Félix Vallotton – against the troubled intellectual and political background of the Third Republic