joseph scissorhands: Pierre Bonnard: The Colour Of Memory

Self-Portrait, c.1938

'If one has in a sequence a simple colour as the point of departure, one composes the whole painting around it.' - Pierre Bonnard

I finally managed to catch this Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947) retrospective before it closes next week. Bonnard's work seemed to be preoccupied with and limited to three central themes - The figure, (set mainly in an interior), Still Life, (in a domestic setting), Landscape, (viewed mostly from an interior). Much of the work is created years later from the artists memory, as he stated having the subject in front of was a distraction, hence the title of the exhibition. Although not the strongest draughtsman, I enjoyed Bonnard's figurative work driven as it was by the love for his wife, (and also his model/mistress). The nudes of women at their toilet were really reminiscent of Degas' work on the same subject but not nearly as strong in my opinion. The figures set around the dining table under a harsh light again were reminiscent to me of another artist - Edward Hopper, in that there appeared to be a narrative occuring, albeit a fairly humdrum domestic one, as opposed to the drama and intrigue of those of Hopper.

The exhibition also demonstrates Bonnard's limitations as an artist too, as there are a few awful paintings which really stand out in comparison to the other pieces on display. Picasso wasn't overly keen and dismissed Bonnard's output as "a potpourri of indecision". Matisse on the other hand had nothing but praise for Bonnard's use of colour.

An element I discovered about Bonnard's work in this exhibition which I had never paid attention to before was his use of horizontals and verticals to divide and break up the picture plane. He employs door and window frames, tables, mantelpieces and balconies to this end, and also the curved surfaces of tabletops. This disruptive element may have been adopted from Japanese prints which were fashionable and influential among artists in the early half of the 20th century.

Bonnard's much celebrated use of colour was strongly in evidence throughout the entire exhibition and really came in to its own as a result of his move from Paris to the bright Meditteranean light of the south of France. His palette appeared to favour yellows, ochres, purples and reds and put this hue to good use in those checkered tablecloths.The colours are layered over each other to give a rich, saturated effect dazzling the eye.