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Pierre Bonnard© Nick Burton
Jul 31, 1998
Pierre Bonnard was born in 1867 at Fontenay-aux- Roses, the son of an official in the Ministry Of War. It was a liberal family, and well-to-do, and Pierre grew up with his parent's acceptance of his desire to be an artist. He enrolled at the Ecloe des Beaux-Arts where he met artists like Paul Ranson, H.G. Ibels, Maurice Denis and others who comprised the "Nabis" group, which was critical of the Impressionist movement and interested in Oriental styles ("Japonisme" ) and the work of Paul Gauguin, whose use of color was an inspiration for the group. Bonnard was known as the "Nabi tres Japonard" (the most Japanese) and this influence on his work can be seen in some of his commercial artwork, which included everything from advertising posters to designing stained glass for American glass maker Louis Tiffany to designing sets (including some, designed with Serusier used for the first performance of Alfred Jarry's scandalous "Ubu Roi") to covers of published sheet music.
Bonnard's main medium, however, was oils, and his work reflects an intimate look at life, with often blazing and pulsing colors. Bonnard had his studio in Le Cannet, which he painted often. In his painting of the studio made circa 1938, the mimosa seems an almost blinding shade of yellow. Bonnard's wife, Marthe de Meligny, was also a frequent subject for his work, and he painted countless canvases of Marthe bathing and dressing. Marthe can be seen in "Marthe In The Red Blouse" ( 1928), "Nude In The Bathroom" (1932) , "Nude Before A Mirror" (19330 and "Nude In The Bath" (1937), the latter canvas being a prime example of Bonnard's extraordinary use of color. The yellows and blues seem to fuse together in a spectral gold that shimmers above Marthe's bath.
An excellent online resource for Bonnard1s work can be found at the Tigertail Virtual Musem of European art, which features clickable thumbnails of many of Bonnard's best known and most influential work. - Nick Burton
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