Who painted Les Mal Tournés?

Les Mal Tournés was painted by Henri-Gabriel Ibels in 1894.

Where can I see Les Mal Tournés?

Les Mal Tournés is held by National Gallery of Art.

What movement is Les Mal Tournés?

Les Mal Tournés is associated with Impressionism.

Artwork

Les Mal Tournés

Henri-Gabriel Ibels , 1894

Les Mal Tournés is a watercolor print by the Impressionist artist Henri-Gabriel Ibels. It dates from 1894 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

Overview

Les Mal Tournés, attributed to Henri‑Gabriel Ibels and dated around 1894, is a small print that combines cut‑out forms with watercolor applied through stencils. The work is catalogued as a photo‑relief, a process that merges aspects of drawing, collage and printmaking. Its compact size and graphic clarity give the impression of a late‑19th‑century poster or a proto‑comic panel.

Subject & Meaning

The awkward proximity invites viewers to contemplate social rituals of courtship or flirtation in a stylized, almost theatrical manner.

The composition presents two women positioned opposite one another. One figure holds a handheld fan, while the other wears a dress marked with vertical stripes. Their heads are inclined toward each other at an exaggerated angle, suggesting a moment of tentative, perhaps humorous, interaction. The awkward proximity invites viewers to contemplate social rituals of courtship or flirtation in a stylized, almost theatrical manner.

Technique & Style

Ibels achieved the image by cutting the paper into distinct shapes, then applying watercolor through precisely cut stencils. This layered approach creates a relief effect, where color and line emerge from the underlying paper texture. The sharp contours, flat areas of pigment, and exaggerated perspective echo the aesthetics of contemporary advertising and early sequential art, while retaining a hand‑crafted, artisanal quality.

History & Provenance

Created circa 1894, Les Mal Tournés belongs to a period when Ibels experimented with hybrid media that blurred the boundaries between illustration and fine art. The work has circulated in private collections and occasional exhibitions focusing on the avant‑garde practices of the Montmartre circle, though detailed ownership records remain limited.

Context

The late nineteenth century saw a surge of interest in graphic reproduction techniques, especially among artists associated with the Nabi and Symbolist movements. Ibels, a frequent collaborator with Toulouse‑Lautrec and other Montmartre figures, employed photo‑relief to explore the interplay between commercial visual language and personal expression, reflecting broader trends in urban visual culture.

Legacy

While not as widely reproduced as some contemporaneous prints, Les Mal Tournés exemplifies an early foray into mixed‑media processes that prefigure later developments in collage and pop‑art. Its combination of stencil‑based watercolor and relief printing offers insight into the experimental spirit that shaped modern graphic practices.