Nativité

1882–1887 · Formation

Lycée Condorcet

1888 · Formation

Académie Julian

1890

Founding of the Nabis group

Together with his fellow students from the Académie Julian he formed the artistic group Les Nabis (from the Hebrew for "prophet"); Denis is considered its most prominent theorist.

August 1890

Manifesto in Art et Critique: the "flat surface"

He published in the journal Art et Critique his famous essay with the words defining a picture as "essentially a flat surface covered with colors assembled in a certain order" — a thesis that became part of the foundation of modernism.

January 1898

First trip to Rome, turn to neoclassicism

He visited Rome for the first time, where the works of Raphael and Michelangelo in the Vatican made a deep impression on him; on his return he reoriented his art toward neoclassicism.

1899

Exhibition at Durand-Ruel's and the breakup of the Nabis

Tensions among the Nabis came to a head at the exhibition at Durand-Ruel's gallery; from then on each went his own way in art, while remaining on friendly terms.