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Beyond the Easel: Decorative Painting by Bonnard, Vuillard, Denis, and Roussel, 1890–1930
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The Terrace, 1918
Pierre Bonnard (French, 1867–1947)
Oil on canvas; 62 3/4 x 98 1/4 in. (159.5 x 249.5 cm)
The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.
© 2001 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris
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DescriptionIn 1912 Bonnard purchased a small two-story brick house, Ma Roulotte (My Caravan), in the town of Vernon in Normandy. The house had a balcony that ran along the upper story and led to a large terrace with stairs down to the gardens below. Bonnard was inspired to create a series of paintings from this terrace.
After World War I many of the important characteristics of decorations-an emphasis on surface, flat forms, patterns, matte surfaces, non-narrative content, and large-scale or unusual formats-began to be absorbed into modern painting. Bonnard's three great terrace paintings, executed between 1918 and 1928, are eloquent testimony to the degree to which the characteristics of his decorations had been incorporated into his entire oeuvre.
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