Towards the end of the 19th Century, André was one of several artists in Paris re-evaluating the ground broken by the Impressionists, taking the subjects they painted and recharging them with a new psychological truth and immediacy. The contemporary realism of the Impressionist scenes was injected with new technical experimentation, as artists such as André developed their own individual interests and concerns.



The development of the Nabis aesthetic was rapid in the years from 1888 onwards when they first exhibited at the Salon d’ Automne. The shared conviction of artists such as Maurice Denis, Paul Serusier, Eduoard Vuillard and Pierre Bonnard, (being that natural objects are vehicles for ideas and emotions), made them one of the most tightly knit movements of Post Impressionism. Working on this basis, the Nabis produced paintings that organised objects and scenes in a more abstract and colourful way, distorting perspectives and playing with decorative surfaces.



André, with his interest in the sensual qualities of paint and colour-filled canvases, seemed to work most closely with this aesthetic, and the group were to have a considerable influence on the development of his style, although he never fully associated himself with any particular group or movement. He concentrated on painting intimate and mainly domestic interiors that resemble the emotive responses to the daily reality of Vuillard’s interiors. Often painting closely to an open window, he would experiment with closing off the picture to any sense of perspectival space and confine his composition to small, intimate areas, often lit by lamp light. ‘La lecture’ typifies André’s interest in perspective and colour harmonies, particularly with his sensitive and colourful juxtaposition of the cushions, the chaise lounge or bed, and the woman’s dress.