Bonnard, Pierre, Jeune Fille Lisant (Girl Reading)
Born in France, and educated in the law, Pierre Bonnard decided to become an artist in 1888, attending art school even as he practiced law. By 1890… [Read biography »]
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Pierre Bonnard, Original Bonnard Etching, Jeune Fille Lisant (Girl Reading)  |
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| Artist: | Bonnard, Pierre (1867 - 1947) |
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| Title: | Jeune Fille Lisant (Girl Reading) |
| Medium: | Original Bonnard Etching |
| Image Size: | 6.9 in x 4.7 in (17.5 cm x 12 cm) |
| Sheet Size: | 14 in x 11 in (35.6 cm x 27.9 cm) |
| Framed Size: | 23 in x 21 in (59 cm x 53 cm) |
| Signed: | This work has a guaranteed authentic monogram by Bonnard in the plate at the bottom margin of the image |
| Edition: | From the edition of 340, after the cancelled plate |
| Price: Item# 2328 | $SOLD Please visit the rest of our Bonnard fine art collection |
| Description: | |
Extremely delicate, this introspective work evokes a sense of reflection and beauty. The simplicity and sensitivity of this piece represents the subtle quality of Bonnard's work, visually revealing only what is sufficient for the viewer to interpret the subject matter. Created in 1930, this work was one of seventeen original etchings designed for the book La vie de sainte Monique. This piece is from the edition of 340, after the cancelled plate. Published by Ambroise Vollard, this work is printed on a laid paper and is monogrammed in the plate by Bonnard. This etching is authenticated by the Société de Vérification de la Gravure Internationale of New York and Paris. Seated with her back to us, a woman is reading underneath the hints of hanging shade trees. Created with a variation of line quality, the veil over the woman's head contains the most detail with the folds of the fabric emphasized through the use dark and light tones. The woman's face is barely visible, suggesting a lowered eyelid, nose and mouth with an absorbed expression. Using just enough detail to intrigue the viewer, Bonnard creates a beautiful sense of delicacy in this work. Exhibiting a combination of printmaking techniques, the book was published using lithographs, etchings and woodblocks. Of this work Bonnard stated "I illustrated Sainte Monique. Vollard had conceived it in the form of dialogues, like a play. To follow the rhythm of the text and break the monotony of a uniform technique throughout the volume, I introduced etchings and wood engravings. It's a book that was a long time in the making. I started it in 1920, and it wasn't published until ten years later." (Bouvet 254) Catalogue Raisonné & COA: 1) Bouvet, Francis, Bonnard: The Complete Graphic Work, 1981, listed as cat. 111 on pages 254 and 277. 2) Ives, Colta, Giambruni, Helen, and Newman, Sasha, Pierre Bonnard The Graphic Art, 1989, book listed on page 242 with discussion on page 33. 3) Roger-Marx, Claude, Bonnard Lithographe, 1952, book listed as cat. 96 on page 172. 4) Johnson, Una, Ambroise Vollard Editeur, 1944, book listed as cat. no. 25 on pgs 65 and 66. 5) Johnson, Una, Ambroise Vollard Editeur, 1977, book listed as cat no 170 on pg 157. About the Framing: | |
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Biography of Pierre Bonnard
Born in France, and educated in the law, Pierre Bonnard decided to become an artist in 1888, attending art school even as he practiced law. By 1890, he was painting full time.
EARLY WORK AND INFLUENCES Bonnard's early work was created in the climate of Symbolist thought. During the 1890's, he was a member of the Nabis, a group of artists under the influence of Paul Gauguin and Paul Sérusier who sought to restore a purely decorative dimension to painting. Emphasizing flat areas of color and strong lines, Bonnard painted small interiors, nudes and café scenes as well as large decorative works, tapestries, and graphics.
AN INNOVATOR WITH COLOR By 1910, Bonnard turned away from intimate works and left Paris for the south of France. By 1915, he had changed the pictorial structure in his paintings without losing the strong color, changes that reflected Cubism. The subjects are always simple, but he rendered a sun-drenched landscape or a table laden with fruit and flowers with luminous color and intriguing compositions.
MASTER OF THE NUDE From the end of the 1920's until his death, Bonnard's subject matter hardly varied. He painted still lifes, self-portraits, his wife Marthe, seascapes, and views of his garden at Le Cannet, all with intense color. His subject was always private life and fragile intimacy in the bedroom, the dining room, the bathroom, and the garden, a life in which Bonnard was both voyeur and participant. He also used the image, clothed and nude, of his wife Marthe who never seemed to age over the decades that she posed for her husband. She appears in the garden, in the dining room, reflections in mirrors and while in the bathtub.
