Untitled 

Paul Ranson made this untitled pastel drawing during the 1890s in France, a time of great social change. Ranson was a member of Les Nabis, a group of Post-Impressionist avant-garde artists who rejected naturalism, believing that art should synthesize nature with the artist’s subjectivity. The members of Les Nabis were deeply involved in the theater, and this scene, with its limited depth and figures dressed in long robes, has a stage-like feel. The women's robes and the autumnal colors could be seen as a visual shorthand for the changing of the seasons, evoking melancholy and the passage of time. The standing figures in the background add a sense of mystery to the scene. To learn more, we might look to period journals, theater programs, or manifestos produced by Les Nabis. As historians, we look for the social and institutional contexts that inform the production and reception of art.