SÉRUSIER, Paul

(b. 1864 Paris, d. 1927 Morlaix)

French painter, who was a pioneer of abstract art and an inspiration for the avant-garde movement Les Nabis, Synthetism and Cloisonnism. In the summer of 1888 he travelled to Pont-Aven and joined the small group of artists centred there around Paul Gauguin, whose style he adhered to, particularly in his paintings of Breton landscapes. With Maurice Denis, Sérusier was a founder and spokesman of the Nabis. Sérusier had a highly methodical approach to art; he expressed his theories in “ABC de la peinture” (1921).

Breton Wrestling Match

In this painting S�rusier, who regularly visited Brittany from 1888, portrays the gouren, which still played an important role in traditional festivals in Brittany even during the late nineteenth century. Only a few positions were allowed in this extremely ritualised system of fighting, for instance the position called in Breton the “klikedou,” shown here. The men were required to fight barefoot and wear simple white linen shirts.

The two-dimensional effect of the painting betrays the influence of Gauguin.

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The Talisman (The River Aven at Bois d'Amour)

While at the Pont-Aven artist’s colony S�rusier painted a picture that became known as The Talisman, under the close supervision of Gauguin. The picture was an extreme exercise in Cloisonnism that approximated to pure abstraction.

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