Dread

1889

Revelation at the Gauguin exhibition at the Café Volpini

He was captivated by the exhibition of works by Gauguin and other artists at a café near the World's Fair in Paris; he later called it "an astonishment, followed by a revelation."

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.

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.

October 1890

Meeting Marthe Meurier

He met Marthe Meurier, his future wife and the principal model of his paintings; from June 1891 their romance is documented in detail in his diary.

12 June 1893

Marriage to Marthe Meurier

He married Marthe Meurier, the future mother of his seven children; the newlyweds went on a honeymoon to Brittany, where Denis painted many pictures.

12 juli 1893

Married: Marthe Meurier