Decidedly Post-Impressionist, his loose style and rough facture did not impress the critics at first. Painting a mixture of landscapes and scenes from the centre of Berlin, he was still looking for the right formula.
landscape
Framing a landscape with a window forms a picture within a picture, and can reverse the traditional device of repoussoir.
An overview of more than fifty years of his magnificent landscapes, from the rolling countryside of Isère, in the east of France, to the heat of Le Cannet in the south.
Paintings of exuberant brilliant yellow mimosa, bleak self-portraits, and his favourite views around Le Cannet from his final years.
Landscapes and paintings of Marthe in the bath reached a peak in which colour was supreme, and form became fluid and adaptable.
In the 1930s, he painted more watercolours, intimate domestic scenes, and nudes. Despite being in his mid-sixties, his work showed no sign of easing off.
The Bonnard’s spent much of their time on the Mediterranean coast, in their villa in Le Cannet. But Pierre found himself isolated, and snuck off for 6 months in Carcachon.
They start moving to Le Cannet, on the Mediterranean coast, and marry at last. He returns to painting intimate scenes of Marthe, notably of her in the bath.
He ran off to Rome with another lover, leaving Marthe in the south of France. More fine paintings – including one of his best.
Gérôme’s ‘Ave Caesar’ was a visually stunning wide-angle spectacular, with its detailed reconstructions. Examined in the light of Claude, Girtin, Turner, and others.
