Pierre Bonnard

Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris (acquired from the artist in 1913)

Mrs. Morgan-Snell, Paris (by descent and sold: Hôtel Drouot, Paris, November 23, 1987, lot 14)

Private Collection (acquired at the above sale)

Paris, Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Bonnard, 1946, no. 16 (as dating from 1918)

Paris, Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Bonnard, 1950, no. 28 (as dating from 1918 and with inverted measurements)

Paris, Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Visages et paysages de Bonnard et Vuillard, 1957, no. 10

London, Royal Academy of Arts, Pierre Bonnard, 1966, no. 110

Munich, Haus der Kunst; Paris, Musée de l'Orangerie, Pierre Bonnard, 1966-67, no. 78 (as dating from 1918)

Paris, Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Coup de chapeau à Bonnard, 1967

Humlebaek, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Pierre Bonnard, 1967

Paris, Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, De Renoir à Matisse, 1986, no. 1

Leon Werth, Bonnard, Paris, 1923, illustrated pl. 26

Erik Blomberg, "Pierre Bonnard," Konstrevy, no. 1, Stockholm, 1939, illustrated p. 4

François-Joachim Beer, Louis Gillet and Raymond Cogniat, Pierre Bonnard, Marseille, 1947, illustrated pl. VIII

Jean and Henry Dauberville, Bonnard, Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint, vol. II, Paris, 1965, no. 752, illustrated pp. 302 and 303

The painting is in very good condition. The canvas is lined. Under ultra-violet light there is a thin line of inpainting running vertically up the proper left side of the figure's face. The line of inpainting appears to be addressing some scratch or break in the canvas and is approximately 3 ½ inches long. Other than that, the surface is untouched and is in very good condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Bonnard's niece, Vivette Terrasse, appears in the garden of the family home at Grand-Lemps. Seen in full figure with basket in hand, she runs along a path with a scampering dog beside. Pressed close to the picture plane, with paws and feet touching the painting's lower edge, they appear poised to leap into our space, while the garden with its fountain and foliage stretches away behind them. Conflating the genres of portraiture and landscape, this work weds the two trajectories of Bonnard's work in the teens - society portraits and modern idylls.

This is one of the many occasions in which Bonnard took his ancestral home in the Dauphiné as his subject. It was here that he would spend several weeks each spring in the company of his sister Andrée, her husband the composer Claude Terrasse, and their three children. It is possible that Vivette appears as one of the younger children in foreground of La Famille au jardin (Grand-Lemps), circa 1901 (see fig. 1). In that large composition Claude Terrasse sits cross-legged at left seemingly presiding over the domestic bliss around him replete with numerous children, pets and visitors.

The conflation of portraiture and the leisure activities of the bourgeoisie in the present work and its precedent recalls Impressionist concerns. Indeed, Bonnard's work from 1900-1914 has been described as belated Impressionism. Writing of his engagement with the concerns of the artistic movement several decades after its inception, Bonnard stated: "When my friends and I decided to pick up the research of the Impressionists, and to attempt to take it further, we wanted to outshine them in their naturalistic impressions of color. Art is not nature. We were stricter in composition. There was a lot more to be got out of color as a means of expression" (quoted by Timothy Hyman, Bonnard, London, 1998, p. 65). Jeune fille jouant avec un chien (Vivette Terrasse) exemplifies the method by which Bonnard sought to take color further. The high-keyed color of the canvas is the result of the white underpainting upon which the work was executed. Intense sunlight appears to glisten on Vivette's shoulders and the dog's back, while the garden path and vegetation shimmer. Bonnard's quick, visible brushwork likewise infuses the canvas with vibrant movement.

Both the subject of this work  and its execution point to Bonnard's high regard for Renoir at this time (see fig. 2). Describing his influence as "that of a rather severe father", Bonnard wrote that he admired Renoir's ability "to project, even upon the model and lighting somewhat lacking in luster, his recollections of more joyous times. He created a magnificent universe for himself"  (quoted in Hyman, op. cit., p.  67). Likewise, Jeune fille jouant avec un chien (Vivette Terrasse) attests to Bonnard's claim that "Art is not nature" and projects an image even more exuberant than the subject which he painted. 

Fig. 1, Pierre Bonnard,  La Famille au jardin (Grand-Lemps), circa 1901, oil on canvas,  Kunsthaus, Zürich

Fig. 2, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Jeune Fille au cerceau, 1885, oil on canvas, National Gallery, Washington. Chester Dale Collection