Pierre Bonnard

Estate of the Artist, Paris
Galerie Amante, Paris
Private Collection, Switzerland
Sale: Sotheby Parke Bernet & Co., London, 7^th April 1976, lot 69
Acquired by the present owner in December 1985

Jean & Henry Dauberville, Bonnard. Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint, Paris, 1968, vol. II, no. 692A, illustrated p. 258

The canvas is lined. Apart from a 5cm. line of retouching in the male figure's left arm, which appears to correspond to a repaired tear, and a few scattered dots of inpainting in the light blue pigment at the upper left, particularly in the area surrounding the two figures towards upper center, visible under ultra-violet light, this work is in good 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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

A rare example of Bonnard's painting on the theme of ballet, Danseurs is a powerful, energetic work conveying the artist's fascination with the spectacle that featured the celebrated dancer Vaslav Nijinsky. From 1909 onwards, Bonnard was a regular visitor to the Ballets Russes and in the present work he depicted a scene from one of the group's first performances in Paris.

It was in May 1909 that Serge Diaghilev brought his Ballets Russes to Paris, in an attempt to present progressive Russian art to Western audiences. Their performances soon enjoyed great success, and the group returned for several years, introducing outstanding Russian composers, designers, choreographers and dancers to the Parisian public. The first season of the Ballets Russes began with the public dress rehearsal of Le Pavillon d'Armide, the Dances from Prince Igor and Le Festin. The latter was a suite of dances that included Tchaikovsky's legendary L'Oiseau de feu, and it is a scene from this work that Bonnard depicted in the present work. Discussing this ballet piece, Alexander Schouvaloff wrote that Diaghilev 'arranged for a suite of dances from operas and ballets already familiar to the dancers to be presented under the general title, Le Festin. One of the dances in Le Festin was called L'Oiseau de Feu (The Firebird) with Karsavina and Nijinsky for whom Bakst designed the costumes. These were the first costumes by him to be seen in the West' (A. Schouvaloff, Léon Bakst: The Theatre Art, London, 1991, p. 61).

 

The two central performers depicted here are Tamara Karsavina (1885-1978) and the celebrated Vaslav Nijinsky (1889-1950), who were both regular dancers of the Ballets Russes. Nijinsky, who appeared in numerous performances, became famous for his rejection of the conventional forms of classical ballet in favour of free expression. The composer Igor Stravinsky described him as 'the most exciting human being I have ever seen on the stage' (I. Stravinsky, Chronicles of My Life, quoted in Charles Spencer, Leon Bakst and the Ballets Russes, London, 1995, p. 94). Tamara Karsavina was equally well known to Parisian audiences and performed a leading role in Schéhérazade, the most successful production of the Ballets Russes.

 

The costumes the two dancers are wearing here were designed by Leon Bakst, the group’s leading stage and costume designer. With his colourful, exotic and flamboyant style, Bakst created a sensation in the Parisian artistic circles, and became not only Diaghilev's closest collaborator, but also one of the key contributors to the art of the theatre and the one who established the importance of the role of the designer. The costume worn by Nijinsky, depicted in the present work, and now in the collection of the Theatre Museum in London, consists of colorful fabrics embroidered with gold silk, pearls and precious stones. Karsavina’s costume was even more elaborate, crowned with an extravagant headgear with bright red feathers. Bakst's daring designs and bright colour schemes satisfied the Western audience's thirst for the exotic and the sensational, and were largely responsible for the group's popularity both in Europe and America. After the great success of Schéhérazade, Bakst wrote in a letter to his wife: ''We have done the fit-up for Schéhérazade and it's a great success with artists (Vuillard, Bonnard, Seurat, Blanche and others)' (quoted in A. Schouvaloff, op. cit., p. 84).

 

Bakst later discussed his attitude to color and its effect in the theatre: 'I have a taste for intense colors which contrast with each other rather than a collection of colors which go together. The eye used to be saturated with undisturbed visions, and I have tried to use a more resonant scale. Art is only contrasts (quoted in ibid., p. 29). Clearly fascinated by this approach to colour and by the dazzling modernity of Le Festin, Bonnard used a bright palette and quick, spontaneous brushstrokes to convey the sense of movement and energy, capturing a unique, fleeting moment of the magic of theatre and dance.