À rebours
Early in his career, both before and after fighting in the Franco-Prussian War, he worked almost exclusively in charcoal and lithography, works referred to as "noirs". He started gaining recognition after his drawings were mentioned in the 1884 novel "À rebours" ("Against Nature") by Joris-Karl Huysmans. During the 1890s he began working in pastel and oils, which quickly became his favourite medium, abandoning his previous style of "noirs" completely after 1900. He also developed a keen interest in Hindu and Buddhist religion and culture, which increasingly showed in his work.