Pierre Bonnard
Today is our last Sunday when we present the masterpieces from the exhibition "Bonnard/Vuillard. The collection of Zeïneb and Jean-Pierre Marcie-Rivière" held at the Musée Bonnard. Until September 17th the exhibition will present the paintings and drawings from the private collection of Zeïneb & Jean-Pierre Marcie-Rivière which is now owned by the Musée d’Orsay. Enjoy! :)
Before it became a central subject of Bonnard’s paintings, the bathroom was a place where Marthe satisfied her hygienic and then, therapeutic needs as she suffered from neurotic distress. The washrooms in Bonnard family’s residences displayed in the paintings are changed and can rarely be identified.
Here, in order to paint this luminous Crouching nude in the tub, where Marthe is presented in close-up, from up high, the painter probably relies on a photography and sketches made in his house in Normandy.
He pays particular attention to the fluidity of the light and the water resembling milk. He focuses on the tension between almost abstract way of dealing with the space and the model’s pearly white skin while meticulously conveying the scenery, including the curtain. Pierre Bonnard believes that the colour is an essential component of a painting. The volume comes out. The colour transforms and enhances everyday objects.
The composition’s balance results from 2 coloured elements, the model and the curtains in the background. The rhythm comes from the flat tints of colours in the centre and the circular and oval shapes of the bathtub, the body and the head.
Bonnard will return to this scenery several times to compose other paintings, slightly changing the framing or the model’s posture, enriching the subject without wearing it out, just like he will do a couple of years later, painting his versions of bathing nudes in Le Cannet.
Crouching nude in the tub covers one of the most important Degas’ subjects, the one of the nude in the bathroom. Bonnard, also fond of it, explores this subject in various ways. However, the shapes and colours always remain essential.
It's the last day of our 5th birthday week celebration! If you missed it - just swipe left ;)
Zuzanna