Exhibition Dates: January 27–April 19, 2009
Exhibition Location: The Robert Lehman Wing
Press Preview: Monday, January 26, 10:00 a.m.–noon
The first exhibition to focus entirely on the radiant late interiors and still-life paintings of Pierre Bonnard (1867–1947) will open January 27, 2009, at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Pierre Bonnard: The Late Interiors features 80 paintings, drawings, and watercolors that date from 1923 to 1947, when Bonnard centered his painting activity in Le Cannet, a hill town in the south of France. Working in his modest house overlooking the Mediterranean, Bonnard's paintings transformed the rooms and objects that surrounded him into dazzling images infused with intense light. It is these luminous late interiors that define Bonnard's modernism and prompt a reappraisal of his reputation in the history of 20th-century art. Among the 45 paintings, 16 watercolors and gouaches, and 19 drawings and sketches in the exhibition are numerous rarely seen works from private collections, as well as loans from prominent museums in Europe and the U.S. The exhibition will also reunite several pictures that once hung side-by-side on Bonnard's studio wall in Le Cannet.
The exhibition is made possible by The Florence Gould Foundation.
The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
More modern than is commonly recognized, the late work of Pierre Bonnard is remarkable for the artist's individualistic approach to color, light, perspective, and composition—particularly as seen in his interiors and still lifes. Although less well-known than his paintings of bathers, Bonnard's late interiors and still-life paintings are equally extraordinary. Over the course of 24 years of painting the simply furnished, familiar rooms of his house at Le Cannet, Bonnard discovered infinite possibilities, much as Paul Cézanne had discovered in the landscape of Mont Sainte-Victoire. The exhibition will feature the artist's finest interiors, including Corner of the Dining Room at Le Cannet, The White Interior, and The French Window, all from 1932.
Bonnard's late interiors and still lifes explore a multitude of nuanced color relationships among glowing yellows, violets, reds, oranges, greens, and whites, as in Basket of Fruit: Oranges and Persimmons (ca. 1940) and Bouquet of Mimosas (ca. 1945). His images of fruits and bread baskets, teapots and milk jugs, in such paintings as Breakfast (ca. 1930) and The Dessert (1940), transcend domestic narratives to speak of the artist's process of creating pictures through a masterful orchestration of color and light.
Although Bonnard's subjects were close at hand, he rarely painted directly from life, relying instead on pencil drawings sketched rapidly in little diaries. Four of the artist's diaries from his years at Le Cannet will be loaned by the Bibliothèque national de France, Paris. The diary notations lay out idiosyncratic marks as reminders of color, tone, intensity, and contrast. These shorthand sketches were critical to the genesis of large-scale paintings, which Bonnard developed slowly, through a process of continual editing and revision. He often worked on several paintings at once, tacking the unstretched canvases to his studio wall in order to allow for alteration of the periphery of the painting and its overall proportions.
In creating his paintings, the artist deferred to the memory of perception. His interest lay in exploring how diverse objects interrelate within a pictorial field, rather than dwelling on the literalness of any object or figure. For instance, in the paintings Still Life with Ham (1940) and Young Women in the Garden (Renée Monchaty and Marthe Bonnard) (ca. 1921–23, reworked 1945–46), equal attention is paid to every component of a painting. Negative spaces are as important as positive forms, thus achieving a kind of "overallness" in the composition.
Bonnard created a body of work that became less obviously descriptive and more metaphoric over time. The artist played with conventions of perspective and proportion and intensified the relationships among objects and figures to a disquieting effect. Bonnard's paintings often convey a feeling of forbidden sights, as if one is trespassing among private or intimate settings. In Before Dinner (1924), the figures, though physically present, are emotionally absent. In later paintings figures become peripheral, even lacking corporeality. Some figures begin to disappear off the picture plane, as in Dining Room Overlooking the Garden [The Breakfast Room] (1930–31) and Table in Front of the Window (1934–35). Through a shimmering palette of intense, pulsating colors and a fluid interaction between foreground and background, the forms and spaces of Bonnard's still lifes and interiors are not still at all, but quietly transient.
Pierre Bonnard is organized by Dita Amory, Acting Associate Curator-in-Charge of the Robert Lehman Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue featuring essays by Dita Amory, Jack Flam, Jacqueline Munck, Rika Burnham, and Rémi Labrusse. Titled Pierre Bonnard: Late Still Lifes and Interiors, the catalogue will be published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Yale University Press and will be available in the Museum's book shops ($45 cloth, $30 paperback).
The catalogue is made possible by the Janice H. Levin Fund.
The Museum will offer an array of educational programs in conjunction with Pierre Bonnard: The Late Interiors, including a Sunday at the Met lecture program on February 8; gallery talks by Dita Amory; family programs throughout the day on Saturday, February 21; a "Picture This!" workshop for blind or partially sighted visitors on Thursday, March 19; and the documentary film, In Search of Pure Colour: Pierre Bonnard, scheduled for Tuesday, January 27, and Thursday, January 29.
An audio tour, part of the Museum's Audio Guide Program, will be available for rental ($7, $6 for Members, $5 for children under 12). In the Audio Guide, Dita Amory describes the context of Bonnard's late paintngs; poet Richard Howard reads from his translation of the correspondence between Bonnard and Henri Matisse, as well as his own poems about the artist; and Scottish painter Peter Doig offers his viewpoint on Bonnard's style and use of color.
The Audio Guide program is sponsored by Bloomberg.
The exhibition also will be featured on the Museum's website (www.metmuseum.org).
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January 21, 2009
EDUCATION PROGRAMS
January 27–April 19, 2009
Programs are free with Museum admission contribution unless otherwise noted.
SUNDAY AT THE MET
Sunday, February 8
The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium
These afternoon talks focus on the late interiors and related still-life imagery of Pierre Bonnard
(1867–1947) in the context of French modernism.
Lectures
"Vermilion in the orange shadows…": Bonnard's Late Painting
Dita Amory, associate curator, Robert Lehman Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
2:00
Bonnard and Escapism
Julian Bell, artist and independent scholar, London
2:45
AUDIO GUIDE
The Audio Guide brings together three unique perspectives on Bonnard's life and work. Exhibition curator, Dita Amory, associate curator in charge, Robert Lehman Collection, describes the domestic details and depictions of Bonnard's late life; poet Richard Howard reads from his translation of the correspondence between Bonnard and Matisse, as well as his poems about the artist. Painter Peter Doig offers his viewpoint on Bonnard's style and use of color. Taken together, these voices offer an unconventional approach to the interior and still life paintings of Bonnard's later years.
The Audio Guide is available for daily rental: $7.00 for the general public; $6.00 for Museum Members; $6.00 for groups of 14 or fewer; $5.00 for children under 12; $4.00 for groups of
15 or more.
GALLERY TALKS
Meet at exhibition entrance, Robert Lehman Wing, court level. All talks given at 11:00.
Friday, February 6. Dita Amory
Tuesday, February 17. Nicole Myers
Wednesday, March 18. Nicole Myers (FM assistive listening devices available)
Thursday, April 16. Dita Amory (Sign Language–interpreted)
GALLERY CONVERSATIONS
Meet in Carson Family Hall, Uris Center for Education. All conversations led by Rika Burnham, who invites the public into a dialogue aimed to enhance the appreciation of these works of art.
All conversations begin at 11:00.
Tuesday, March 24
Thursday, April 2
Wednesday, April 15
DOCUMENTARY FILMS
In Search of Pure Colour: Pierre Bonnard, 1867–1947 (1984), Didier Baussy, director.
A meditative study of the work of French artist Bonnard (53 min.).
Tuesday, January 27, 2:00
Thursday, January 29, 2:00
Bonnie J. Sacerdote Lecture Hall, Uris Center for Education
Pierre Bonnard: The Mimetic Mimosa (1998), Alain Jaubert, director. Discusses Bonnard's painting technique through an analysis of the work L'atelier au mimosa (30 min.).
Thursday, March 12, 2:00
Bonnie J. Sacerdote Lecture Hall, Uris Center for Education
Tuesday, March 17 and April 14, 2:00
Art Study Room, Uris Center for Education
Pierre Bonnard's Energy (2006), Yann Kassile, director. Presents over 300 paintings by Bonnard, numerous drawings, as well as excerpts from his journal (55 min.).
Thursday, March 19 and April 16, 2:00
Bonnie J. Sacerdote Lecture Hall, Uris Center for Education
FAMILY PROGRAM
Look Again!—Lush Hush
Topics unlocking the history, meaning, and cross-cultural connections of works of art in the
Museum are explored through conversation and sketching by visitors ages five through twelve
and their adult companions.
Saturday, February 21, 11:00–12:30 and 2:00–3:30
Carson Family Hall, Uris Center for Education
PROGRAM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
The Art of Pierre Bonnard
Encounter Pierre Bonnard's luminous interior scenes and still-life paintings in the exhibition and explore how the artist's masterful use of color transforms the ordinary into the spectacular.
To register call (212) 650-2832 or send an email to students@metmuseum.org.
Instructor: Nelly Silagy Benedek
Friday, March 13, 4:30–6:00
SERVICES FOR VISITORS WITH DISABILITIES
"Picture This!" A Workshop for Visitors Who Are Blind or Partially Sighted
Participants learn about works in the exhibition through description and discussion.
Thursday, March 19, 2:00–4:00
This program is free, but places are limited and reservations are required. Please call (212) 879-5500,
ext. 3561 or email access@metmuseum.org.
Audio Guide
The Audio Guide is free to visitors who are blind, partially sighted, or hard of hearing. Audio Guide players have volume controls and headsets. Neck loops for hearing aids with T-switches are available upon request. Regular and large-print scripts of Audio Guide programming are also available upon request and are free to Deaf visitors.
Other Services
The Museum is committed to serving all audiences. Please call us about services, including Sign
Language–interpreted programs, Verbal Imaging Tours, the Touch Collection, and other programs.
Voice: (212) 879-5500, ext. 3561; TTY: (212) 570-3828
NOLEN LIBRARY IN
THE RUTH AND HAROLD D. URIS CENTER FOR EDUCATION
Nolen Library has information about the Museum's collection, special exhibitions, and a
Teacher Resource Center with a circulating collection for educators. There is also a Children's Reading Room, a specially designed space for families to read together from books in the
library's collection. For further information please call (212) 570-3788.
WEBSITE
For further information about our programs, visit the Museum's website at www.metmuseum.org.
Pierre Bonnard: The Late Interiors
The exhibition is made possible by The Florence Gould Foundation.
The catalogue is made possible by the Janice H. Levin Fund.
The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
We are grateful to the following for their support of educational programs:
The Audio Guide is sponsored by Bloomberg.
Family Programs at The Metropolitan Museum of Art are supported by:
the Uris Brothers Foundation Endowment; the Pat and John Rosenwald Fund;
Mr. and Mrs. Marvin H. Schein; The Aronson Family Foundation; and Epstein Teicher Philanthropies.
Free classes for high school students are made possible through the generous support of the Altman Foundation.
Additional support is provided by Mr. and Mrs. Marvin H. Schein and the John and Patricia Klingenstein
Fund.
Access programs at The Metropolitan Museum of Art are made possible by MetLife Foundation.
Access programs are also made possible by the generous support of the Filomen M. D'Agostino
Foundation. Additional support has been provided by The Ceil & Michael E. Pulitzer Foundation, Inc.,
the Renate, Hans & Maria Hofmann Trust, the Allene Reuss Memorial Trust, The Murray G. and
Beatrice H. Sherman Charitable Trust, the Stella and Charles Guttman Foundation, Inc., and Jane B. Wachsler.
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