Pierre Bonnard

Pierre Bonnard was born in 1867 in Fontenay-aux- Roses to an upper-class family. He studied law at the Sorbonne in Paris from 1885 to 1887, primarily to please his father. Bonnard studied art at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and at the Academy Julian in Paris. In the 1890's Bonnard was associated with the Nabis, a group that included Vuillard and Maillol and expounded the idea "that a picture...is essentially a flat surface, covered with colors assembled in a certain order." To this end his painting had the blurred edges and the strong formal element of color which were the peculiar contributions of the Nabis to Post-Impressionism. Bonnard was concerned to represent psychological and emotional states in his work. This lead him to portray minor episodes in domestic life-called Intimism. He was also inspired by Japanese prints for their flat patterns and cropping techniques. A family man, Bonnard preferred to spend time with his wife in the quiet of his home where he painted the everday subjects that interested him. His friendship with Monet and Renoir influenced his later work. He was inpired by Renoir's brushstrokes and Monet's pigment. The result was canvases that delilghted in the texture and vibration of the paint. At the same time Bonnard's colors changed from opaque to transparent. This would develop and move toward abtraction, as he tended to do away with the narrative quality of his paintings, until his death in January 1947.

Pierre Bonnard Images:
Lane at Vernonmet
Table Set in a Garden
The Breakfast Room, 1930
View of the River Vernon
Woman in a Check Dress, 1891