Bonnard - Hardcover

Whitfield, Sara

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0810940213 ISBN 13: 9780810940215

Publisher: Harry N. Abrams, 1998

Synopsis

Published to accompany a major retrospective exhibition and based on fresh research, a survey of the work of the late nineteenth/early twentieth-century Post-Impressionist painter, Pierre Bonnard, includes and discusses 237 reproductions, 112 in full color.

About this title

Review:

It seems somehow revolutionary that a turquoise-blue painting graces the cover of Bonnard, the catalog accompanying a 1998 exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. The color of the endpapers--deep yellow--tells readers that even the book designers know with which end of the color spectrum most viewers associate this sensuous painter. The translucent-looking, sun-struck, golden woman in the bathtub--the artist's wife and favorite model--is so emblazoned on our memories that it takes an exhibition like the one documented in this book to remind viewers of Bonnard's extraordinary range as a colorist.

The early, intimate, Nabi paintings are often dark, with figures that stand out like candle flames in shadowy interiors. But Bonnard's use of umber, sienna, and various blacks--occasionally in the shape of a dachshund--is forever part of what makes those brilliant reds and oranges sing. Even 60 years into his career, the painter gave full range to his palette, balancing the most highly colored canvasses with others of pale, soft grays. Those readers who have been succored on the 1984 Phillips Collection catalogue will find MoMA's new one every bit as nourishing.

About the Author:

Yves-Alain Bois is Professor of Art History at Harvard University and has written extensively on modern art. Georges Roque is a philosopher and art historian who has written widely on 20th-century art. His book La strategie de Bonnard : Couleur, lumiere, regard will be published by Gallimard in 2006. Sarah Whitfield curated the Tate Gallery's 1998 Bonnard retrospective and was the co-author, with John Elderfield, of the accompanying catalogue. She has curated numerous exhibitions of 20th-century artists.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0810940213
• ISBN 13: 9780810940215
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 269