Pierre Bonnard

Estate of the artist
Wildenstein & Co., London
Sale: Sotheby's, London, December 1, 1987, lot 34
Acquired at the above sale by A. Alfred Taubman

Jean & Henry Dauberville, Bonnard, Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint, 1906-1919, Paris, 1968, vol. II, no. 829, illustrated p. 356

This work is in very good condition. The canvas has an old glue lining and is slightly bowed in the upper left quadrant. The surface is clean. The pigments are bright and well preserved. Some evidence of some old very minor frame abrasion along the upper right and right upper edge. The canvas was at one point on a larger stretcher and the lower edge has been folded over, presumably at the time the Estate stamp was applied. Tiny speck of surface paint loss to the hat of the rightmost figure. Under UV light: no evidence of inpainting is apparent.
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.

Capturing the Zeitgeist of the time, Pierre Bonnard reveled in seizing the vast array of characters inhabiting the modern city and Cinq personnages is an inventive and colorful depiction of a bustling street scene in Paris circa 1915.  The spectacle of urban modernity provided a colorful source of inspiration, and the artist was fascinated by the variety of subjects it offered: street sellers, elegant bourgeois ladies, old-fashioned and modern modes of transport, and urban architecture. Bonnard shared this fascination with the city with Impressionist and post-Impressionist artists, including Caillebotte, Monet and Pissarro, all of whom executed a number of works depicting Parisian boulevards, squares and bridges, usually characterized by a sense of the rich and varied life of the city. Through their works, each of these artists remarkably provided a snippet of a changing world, away from the provincial experience of local life into the observation of a Haussmanized, new, Paris, radically changing both the cityscape and the way humans interact, navigate and experience the city.

Cinq personnages depicts a busy crossing in Paris. In an extremely modern perspective in the composition, the artist has included numerous figures all captured with a remarkable sense of movement, reflecting Bonnard's fascination with the energy and dynamic life of the metropolis. Gustave Geffroy commented on Bonnard’s work: "no-one is quicker than Bonnard to seize the look of our Parisian streets, the silhouettes of a passer-by and the patch of colour which stands out in the Metropolitan mist. [He] seizes on all the momentary phenomena of the street, even the most fugitive glances are caught and set down" (Gustave Geffroy, quoted in Pierre Bonnard (exhibition catalogue), Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1996, p. 16). In Cinq personnages the figures are closely portrayed almost as if about to run into each other at any moment. However, each is extremely isolated, all headed in different directions, capturing the physical proximity but emotional distance of the figures. Each woman is elegantly portrayed with fashionable hats, disturbed perhaps by the presence of the only male figure in the composition in a bowler hat and a cane stick, the epitome of the bourgeois strolling about town. Most of the figures seem to be absorbed in their own thoughts, placing the viewers as voyeurs to the scene. Our gaze however captures that of the beautiful young lady in a light blue wide-brimmed hat decorated by flowers, her hat obscuring the sun, her eyes into sudden darkness, but placing her profile in a dramatic chiaroscuro effect highlighting her delicate features. Such sudden locking of the gaze almost interrupts and freezes the scene, and Bonnard successfully creates a balance between speed and the frenzy of the modern world highlighted by the rich and dense composition, and the silent, solitary moment of a quiet glance, highlighted by the lady looking out to the viewer.

Returning to this subject throughout his career, Bonnard's city scenes reflect a certain joie de vivre achieved through the sparing use of bright tones and a strong sense of energy and movement. The present work positions the viewer at street level and with this seemingly nonchalant perspective suggests a chance momentary glimpse, rather than a carefully staged ensemble, thereby, further adding to the sense of the fleeting urban life.