Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947)
Works
Biography
Nu accroupi, circa 1938
Painter of Memory, Color, and the Poetic Everyday
At Bailly Gallery, where our passion lies in preserving and promoting the legacy of art’s great innovators, we proudly present the work of Pierre Bonnard, a painter whose subtle genius continues to captivate collectors and institutions worldwide. A founding member of Les Nabis and one of the most distinctive voices of Post-Impressionism, Bonnard transformed the quiet domestic moment into a chromatic and emotional journey.
Born in 1867 in Fontenay-aux-Roses near Paris, Bonnard originally studied law before pursuing art full-time at the Académie Julian and École des Beaux-Arts. Early in his career, he aligned with avant-garde peers such as Édouard Vuillard and Maurice Denis, forming Les Nabis, a Symbolist-influenced group dedicated to transcending naturalistic representation through color, abstraction, and spirituality.
Yet Bonnard quickly carved out his own path—one that turned inward. His subject matter rarely ventured beyond his immediate world: sunlit interiors, quiet still lifes, garden landscapes, and the recurring figure of Marthe de Méligny, his companion and muse for over five decades. Rather than painting directly from life, Bonnard worked from memory, reconstructing the experience of sight and sensation. This unique process gave rise to his signature dreamlike atmosphere, in which space, light, and form merge into lyrical compositions of visual memory.
His canvases are infused with sensual color—golds, violets, soft reds, and deep greens—that shimmer with subtle shifts in tone and luminosity. In abandoning strict perspective, Bonnard emphasized the surface of the painting, foreshadowing key principles of Modernism. His approach has drawn comparisons to Matisse, but while Matisse celebrated structure and design, Bonnard delved into the ephemeral, the intimate, and the quietly transformative.
Bonnard’s significance within the trajectory of modern art cannot be overstated. Revered by later movements including Abstract Expressionism and contemporary colorists, his work remains highly sought after for its emotional depth and painterly sophistication. His paintings reside in the most prestigious collections worldwide—from the Musée d'Orsay and the Centre Pompidou to The Metropolitan Museum of Art and MoMA.
At Bailly Gallery, where expertise in Impressionist and Modern masterpieces is paramount, we value Pierre Bonnard’s rare ability to turn the private into the profound. For collectors, curators, and art lovers, his work represents both a touchstone of historical importance and a living force of visual poetry—an intimate, ever-resonant encounter with the act of seeing.
At Bailly Gallery, where our passion lies in preserving and promoting the legacy of art’s great innovators, we proudly present the work of Pierre Bonnard, a painter whose subtle genius continues to captivate collectors and institutions worldwide. A founding member of Les Nabis and one of the most distinctive voices of Post-Impressionism, Bonnard transformed the quiet domestic moment into a chromatic and emotional journey.
Born in 1867 in Fontenay-aux-Roses near Paris, Bonnard originally studied law before pursuing art full-time at the Académie Julian and École des Beaux-Arts. Early in his career, he aligned with avant-garde peers such as Édouard Vuillard and Maurice Denis, forming Les Nabis, a Symbolist-influenced group dedicated to transcending naturalistic representation through color, abstraction, and spirituality.
Yet Bonnard quickly carved out his own path—one that turned inward. His subject matter rarely ventured beyond his immediate world: sunlit interiors, quiet still lifes, garden landscapes, and the recurring figure of Marthe de Méligny, his companion and muse for over five decades. Rather than painting directly from life, Bonnard worked from memory, reconstructing the experience of sight and sensation. This unique process gave rise to his signature dreamlike atmosphere, in which space, light, and form merge into lyrical compositions of visual memory.
His canvases are infused with sensual color—golds, violets, soft reds, and deep greens—that shimmer with subtle shifts in tone and luminosity. In abandoning strict perspective, Bonnard emphasized the surface of the painting, foreshadowing key principles of Modernism. His approach has drawn comparisons to Matisse, but while Matisse celebrated structure and design, Bonnard delved into the ephemeral, the intimate, and the quietly transformative.
Bonnard’s significance within the trajectory of modern art cannot be overstated. Revered by later movements including Abstract Expressionism and contemporary colorists, his work remains highly sought after for its emotional depth and painterly sophistication. His paintings reside in the most prestigious collections worldwide—from the Musée d'Orsay and the Centre Pompidou to The Metropolitan Museum of Art and MoMA.
At Bailly Gallery, where expertise in Impressionist and Modern masterpieces is paramount, we value Pierre Bonnard’s rare ability to turn the private into the profound. For collectors, curators, and art lovers, his work represents both a touchstone of historical importance and a living force of visual poetry—an intimate, ever-resonant encounter with the act of seeing.
Enquire