Pierre Bonnard 1867–1947 France
Pierre Bonnard was a post-impressionist French painter and printmaker, and founding member of the avant-garde group Les Nabis. Bonnard and Henri Matisse, were the great colorists of the 20th century. In 1890 Bonnard shared a studio with fellow Nabis artists, Vuillard and Denis, and pioneered the technique of color lithography along with Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Bonnard choose to only paint the familiar and the rituals of daily life. His often complex compositions—typically of sunlit interiors and gardens populated with friends and family members, are both narrative and autobiographical. Bonnard's fondness for depicting intimate scenes of everyday life led to him being called an "Intimist". He preferred to work from memory, imaginatively capturing the spirit of a moment and expressing it through his unique handling of color and innovative sense of composition. Bonnard lived into his eightieth year, spending time increasingly at Le Bosquet, his small house in Le Cannet overlooking the Mediterranean with his wife Marthe. Preferring a quieter life and not concerned with sales, he did little to self promote and over the decades his work became more and more sought after.
His work is in all of the Guggenheim Museums.
The Tate Modern in London is currently featuring a retrospective exhibition of his work.
PIERRE BONNARD-THE COLOUR OF MEMORY 23 January – 6 May 2019
