Pierre Bonnard

Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris (acquired from the artist)
Henri Canone, Paris (acquired from the above)
Galerie Paul Rosenberg, Paris
Private Collection, Paris (acquired from the above circa 1935)
André Goldet, Paris (acquired in 1957)
Michel Goldet & Sabine Pierre-Brossolette, Paris
Acquired as a gift from the above in 1982

Paris, Salon des Artistes Indépendants, 1923
Paris, Musée d'Art Moderne, Depuis Bonnard, 1957, no. 44
Roverto, Museo d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Trento e Roverto, Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, Masterpieces from the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 2008-09

Le Bulletin de la vie artistique, Paris, February 15, 1923, p. 92
Art Vivant, Paris, 1928, illustrated
Jean & Henry Dauberville, Bonnard, Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint, vol. III, Paris, 1973, no. 1142, illustrated p. 132

Excellent condition. Original canvas. Under UV light, no evidence of retouching.
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With an exacting focus on this densely arranged bowl of fruit, Bonnard exemplifies the intimisme of his earlier Nabis pictures and the vibrant coloration that define his later years. Still-lifes occupied a large part of the artist's oeuvre over the course of his career, but as he developed his style, his approach to these compositions became more experimental. The present work is evidence of this approach, as he carefully renders the vibrant tablecloth so that the fabric is as dominant as any other feature in the composition.

In a recent exhibition catalogue on Bonnard's still-lifes, Dita Amory describes how Bonnard developed relationships with objects he painted, enabling him to reveal a particular beauty that might otherwise be overlooked:  "In all his waking moments, Bonnard was searching for the shock of an image, for its potential to become a painting.  In that sense he was not a voyeur but a silent witness, someone simultaneously inside and outside of any given moment.  His discreet presence in the room where he worked gave him status equal to that of the objects he painted; he was one with the chair, the sugar bowl, the teapot, the saltcellar.  In order to paint an object he needed to be familiar with it, to see it sympathetically, or as having its own personality.  Once, when asked to consider some charming ensemble as a potential still life, he responded simply, 'I haven't lived with that long enough to paint it'" (Dita Amory, "The Presence of Objects: Still Life in Bonnard's Late Paintings," in Pierre Bonnard, The Late Still Lifes and Interiors (exhibition catalogue), The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2009, p. 26).