- 222
Pierre Bonnard
Description
- Pierre Bonnard
- Nature morte aux pĂȘches et au pot jaune
- stamped Bonnard (upper right)
- oil on canvas
- 50.3 by 44.3cm., 19 3/4 by 17 1/2 in.
Provenance
Acquired from the above by the family of the present owners in 1955
Literature
Condition
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
The beautifully rendered bowl of fruit and pitcher stand in contrast to the more loosely defined background, underscoring an intensity of focus on the principal subject. The cropped format emphasises the typically intimiste character of the scene, while the unstable and elevated viewpoint is strongly reminiscent of Matisse's immersive still lifes and interior scenes. The cheerful chequered tablecloth is a further nod to Matisse, in particular to his Nature morte, serviette à carreau of 1903. As Elie Faure has remarked, Bonnard ‘has this, as do all masters: the surprising freedom that there are so very many things to love all at once, and to understand almost as quickly, to reproduce according to the new order of his being, in a rhythm that confuses and amazes every time' (quoted in Les Cahiers d'aujourd'hui, December 1912, pp. 263-266).
Discussing Bonnard's still lifes, Dita Amory has described how the artist developed relationships with objects he painted, enabling him to reveal a particular beauty that otherwise might be overlooked: ‘In all his waking moments, Bonnard was searching for the shock of an image, for its potential to become a painting. In that sense he was not a voyeur but a silent witness, someone simultaneously inside and outside of any given moment. His discreet presence in the room where he worked gave him status equal to that of the objects he painted; he was one with the chair, the sugar bowl, the teapot, the saltcellar. In order to paint an object he needed to be familiar with it, to see it sympathetically, or as having its own personality. Once, when asked to consider some charming ensemble as a potential still life, he responded simply, “I haven't lived with that long enough to paint it”’ (Dita Amory, ‘The Presence of Objects: Still Life in Bonnard's Late Paintings,’ in Pierre Bonnard, The Late Still Lifes and Interiors (exhibition catalogue), The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2009, p. 26).