Symbolism

Paul Sérusier

Paul Sérusier (1864–1927) was a founder of the Nabis, a group of Symbolist painters inspired by Gauguin. His tiny landscape The Talisman, almost abstract, became a manifesto for modern colour.

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1864–1927 · French Symbolist painter

Through the Nabis, Sérusier helped pass Gauguin's bold colour on to the next generation of modern art.

Creator story

Surprising fact

Sérusier painted The Talisman under Gauguin's direct instruction to use pure, unmixed colour — laying a foundation stone of abstraction.

Source: Wikipedia / Wikimedia

Portrait of Paul Sérusier — Portrait: Wikimedia Commons / Wikipedia.

Co-founded the Symbolist Nabis group with Bonnard and Vuillard.
His near-abstract Talisman became a manifesto of pure colour.
Carried Gauguin's bold colour theory into the 20th century.

Paul Sérusier, Le Talisman, l'Aven au Bois d'Amour

Key works

A key work by Paul Sérusier

These works make it easiest to see how the artist changed form, content, and the very way art could exist in culture.

1888

Le Talisman, l'Aven au Bois d'Amour

Le Talisman, l'Aven au Bois d'Amour reads as one of the anchor works of symbolism, where Paul Sérusier's visual voice becomes unmistakable.