*« Bonnard lithographe », Claude Roger-Marx, André Sauret, 1952 *« L'oeuvre peint, 1887-1947 », 4 Vol., J. et H. Dauberville, Ed. Bernheim-Jeune et Cie, Paris, 1966-1974 / Vol. I, révisé et augmenté, M. et G.-P. Dauberville, Ed. Bernheim-Jeune et Cie, Paris, 1992 *« Bonnard illustrateur », Antoine Terrasse, Adam Biro, 1988 *« Bonnard, l’oeuvre gravé », Francis Bouvet, Flammarion, 1989
JAPONISM/1880-1895 / Vincent Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec, etc. NABIS MOVEMENT/1888-1910 / Paul Sérusier, Paul Ranson, Henri Gabriel Ibels, Maurice Denis, Félix Edouard Valloton, etc.
"When you cover a surface with colors, it is necessary to be able to renew its play indefinitely, to unceasingly find new combinations of forms and colors which answer the requirements of the emotion." -
Pierre Bonnard
Pierre Bonnard was born in 1867 in Fontenay-aux-Roses near Paris, he was considered as one of the greatest painters of XX ° century. He first studied Law while frequenting the Julian (1887-1889) academy. Pierre Bonnard joined the Art college of Paris in 1888. In the beginning of the 90s, he regularly participated in the Salon of the Independants, then in the Autumn Salon. From 1891 till 1898, Bonnard exhibited with the group Nabis. He was seen then as « the most Japanese of all the French painters ». Bonnard painted and drew his forms in arabesques and applied his colours in a flat way, avoiding any deep effect.
His first personal exhibition was organized in 1896 (Gallery Durand). Bonnard painted portraits, self- portraits, street scenes of Paris, scenes of the domestic life; he created ornamental panels. Bonnard contributed to the "Revue blanche". At the beginning of 1900s, the artist focused on the colour and the light. The preliminary drawing became more and more important in the construction of his big compositions; the artist liked giving to see with opened windows and mirrors. He wanted to seize the space in his global nature through his immediate sensation.
In 1909, the artist discovered the South of France (Côte d’Azur), then stayed there regularly. Bonnard discovered the South with its colours: « I had, he said, a blow of the Arabian Nights. The sea, the yellow walls, the reflections so colored as the lights ». The art of Bonnard showed a nature transfigured by what he felt; the used tones were melted, the forms were indistinct. Big subjects, always close to his personal life, were recurring; Pierre Bonnard painted landscapes, home life, still lives, bare feminine for which her wife Marie (Marthe) was often the model. In 1926, he bought the Villa "Le Bosquet" in Le Cannet where he retired in 1939. Throughout his life, the graphic work was important: posters, drawings, lithographs, etchings, illustrations of books. Wildly independent, the artist found his own road, his soul getting the every day life with happiness.
Pierre Bonnard died in 1947 in Le Cannet (Côte d’Azur, France). He rests in the cemetery Notre Dame des Anges.
