Henri Gabriel Ibels

While many of his fellow Nabi artists sought inspiration in Symbolism, Henri Gabriel Ibels (1867-1936) kept both feet firmly on the ground, focusing in his printmaking on the unvarnished working-class life around him.

Art critic André Mellerio wrote:

‘And sometimes we have thought this is what prints should be’, ‘colour lithographs, well printed, in a large number of copies, very inexpensive, showing scenes in which common people can really see themselves. Everything that really amuses them, or makes them feelstrong emotions: the circus, the fair, young soldiers, café-concerts, comic or sentimental scenes.’