#ArtNews 380 - L e talisman de Paul Sérusier est-il devenu une relique de l’histoire de l’art ?

How did Paul Sérusier's talisman become a relic of art history? It's summer vacation in Pont-Aven! The year is 1888, school is out, and a group of artists gathers in this little corner of Brittany. They don't know it yet, but this man, Paul Sérusier, is about to revolutionize Modern Art, thanks to a prestigious encounter. What interests him is purity. That summer, Paul Gauguin is at the forefront of a new movement: Synthetism. One painting will serve as a manifesto of Synthetism: Vision After the Sermon. He uses pure colors. The vermilion red is barely out of the tube, and he outlines his figures with a black line. All this with a disorienting composition. This painting fascinates the young Paul Sérusier. The painter, with his academic habits, is not easily intimidated. He mustered his courage and asked the master Gauguin for a lesson. It was here that Paul Sérusier painted "Landscape in the Bois d'Amour." This painting lesson from Gauguin would become one of the most important in the history of art. Back in Paris, he presented "The Aven in the Bois d'Amour." The work was initially rejected by his peers. Then, he showed the canvas to his friends Paul-Élie Rancon and François-Xavier Roussel. Intrigued and fascinated, they gathered around this painting, which he nicknamed "The Talisman." They formed a new group: the Nabis. Everything was in place to revolutionize the art world. Gauguin had a prophetic vision with the emergence of Synthetism, and his Vision After the Sermon is its manifesto. Paul Sérusier's talisman was the element that broke with the prevailing Impressionism. This painting became a lesson in color and composition, propelling painting into modern art, towards Fauvism, Expressionism, and Abstraction! Rarely has such a small painting had such a profound influence. Join us on social media: Facebook:   / museumtv.art   Instagram:   / museumtv_art   Twitter:   / museumtv_art