Study for a Portrait of Vuillard
c. 1910
Medium
oil on wood
Dimensions
overall: 46 x 37.8 cm (18 1/8 x 14 7/8 in.) framed: 59.4 x 51.4 x 3.8 cm (23 3/8 x 20 1/4 x 1 1/2 in.)
Classification
Painting
Department
CMC
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon
Accession Number
1995.47.3
Art Historical Context
Pierre Bonnard’s *Study for a Portrait of Vuillard* (c. 1910) offers a rare glimpse into the close artistic circle of the Nabis, the group of French painters who sought to infuse everyday subjects with decorative color and emotional resonance. Bonnard, often called the “Nabi very Japanese” for his flattened forms and luminous palette, here turns his attention to his friend and fellow Nabi Édouard Vuillard. Painted on a modest wooden panel, the work captures the quiet intimacy that defined both artists’ approach to portraiture and domestic life in turn-of-the-century Paris. As its title indica...
About the Artist
Pierre Bonnard
Pierre Bonnard (1867–1947) was a French painter and printmaker who became a leading figure in the Post-Impressionist movement and a founding member of Les Nabis. Born on October 3, 1867, in Fontenay-aux-Roses, France, Bonnard initially studied law at his father's insistence, graduating and briefly practicing as a barrister in 1888. However, his true passion lay in art, and he had simultaneously at...