In Bed

As I promised, today you will explore the Nabi movement. Les Nabis (pronounced nah-BEE) were a group of Post-Impressionist avant-garde artists who set the pace for fine arts and graphic arts in France in the 1890s. Initially it was a group of friends interested in contemporary art and literature. This work is the most brilliant formal variation of one of the favourite themes of the Symbolist culture (the Nabis were very much into symbolism) – sleep and loss of consciousness. In Bed is a masterly work, if only for its size which made a change from the small formats usually used by the Nabis. It is also impressive for its ambiguity, hovering between meditation and humour bordering on caricature. Painted in broad areas of colour with an expressive sense of foreshortening, partly derived from Japanese prints, the composition is based on a network of horizontal and vertical lines which become suppler around the sleeper's face. The calm neutral colour scheme conveys an idea of silence. It deepens only for the human face and the cross on the wall truncated by a horizontal cream band. The presence of this symbol is not surprising considering the mysticism which surrounded the beginnings of the Nabi movement.