In 1890 he founded with his friends the Nabis group and shared a studio with Bonnard and Vuillard. In 1892-1893
he designed the scenery for the theatre. His group portrait of the Nabis painters was painted in 1901. He visited Cezanne at Aix. Besides his impressionistic portrait studies and garden scenes he painted Symbolist pictures of an increasingly religious character.

While visting Italy he had become inspired by the masters of religious art in the Early Renaissance, and this he now expressed in his series of large-scale paintings for churches. He was also a book illustrator and lithographer, and his theoretical publications explored the ideas Symbolism. He
taught at the Acadermy from 1908.

In 1919 he founded workshops for religious art together with Rouault. He is considered one of the great restorers of French religious art. He died in 1943.

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