Pierre Bonnard

Galerie Kriegel, Paris
Sale: Christie's, New York, November 3, 1981, lot 24
Private Collection, Japan (and sold: Sotheby's, New York, May 16, 1984, lot 367)
Sale: Sotheby's, New York, June 29, 1988, lot 109
The Maspro Art Museum, Japan (acquired at the above sale and sold: Christie's, New York, May 5, 2005, lot 225)
Acquired at the above sale 

Jean & Henry Dauberville, Bonnard, Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint 1940-1947 et Supplément 1887-1939, vol. IV, Paris, 1974, no. 01824, illustrated p. 200

Board is sound. There is a layer of varnish on the surface. Under UV light a few pindots of inpainting fluoresce, four near the right edge in the background and two near the left edge in the background. Otherwise fine. This work 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 wrote in 1943 that throughout his life he, “floated between intimism and decoration” (André Fermigier, Pierre Bonnard, New York, n.d., p. 80). Painted many decades earlier, at the turn of the century, the present work demonstrates Bonnard’s intimité and his ability to transform scenes of the everyday with an appeal all his own. Early in his career he achieved this effect primarily through color (see fig. 1). It has been further noted: “Bonnard shows a preference for expression in terms of color rather than in terms of light. There is no vibration of light in...Bonnard’s work, until 1909-1910...color, for Bonnard, was an end in itself” (André Fermigier, ibid., p. 14).

Described as the “last of the Impressionists,” Bonnard is often compared to Degas for his similar use of “close in, frequently raised perspective” (Nicholas Watkins, Bonnard, London, 1994, p. 7). Although unquestionably influenced by the group, Bonnard strove to exceed his predecessors’ artistic innovations. Bouquet de fleurs sur une table is particularly emblematic of Bonnard’s keen interest in presenting the familiar subject of domestic spaces in his pre-World War I oeuvre. As noted by the author Nicholas Watkins, “Bonnard concentrated on familiar motifs in order to transcend and imbue with feeling subjects which the Impressionists had treated in a ‘seemingly too objective way’” (Nicholas Watkins, ibid., p. 56).

The Japanese vase and the Japanese prints fanned across the table call to mind Bonnard's nickname: le Nabi tres Japonard, meaning “the ultra-Japanese Nabi.” Visitors to Bonnard's studio noted paintings by Hiroshige, Kunisada and Kuniyoshi, and Bonnard's well known practice of flattening the perspective and layering patterns within the interiors he favored was directly and powerfully influenced by the ukiyo-e prints that he (and many of the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists) loved and collected.