Pierre Bonnard - part 4 - graphics

1945 Self-portrait oil on canvas

This is the last part of a four-part post on the works of French artist Pierre Bonnard. For biographical notes and paintings, see parts one and two. Part three looks at Bonnard’s lithographic prints. This part looks at some of his commercial work.
Bonnard's first formal art job was a commissioned poster for France-Champagne. Using a style that was reminiscent of Japanese art with its linear, decorative line, this prize-winning poster became an outstanding success for Bonnard. It also drew the attention of other famous artists, notably Toulouse Lautrec. It is interesting to note that this poster's appearance is similar to Lautrec's style, where a joyful young woman is enjoying a glass of champagne from an overflowing bottle.

1891 France - Champagne

 Bonnard continued to show his new works (mostly lithographs) at the Salon des Independants. During this time, he met Marthe Boursin, who would become his lifelong companion and model for some 384 of his paintings.
In addition to paintings and posters, Bonnard also sketched in the 1890's. As his reputation grew, he started getting more offers to produce illustrations and undertake commissioned work. In 1894, Bonnard created a poster and several lithographs for the popular La Revue Blanche magazine.

1891 Folies Bergere

1891 Le Moulin Rouge

c1891-3 Solfège, preliminary cover design for Petit Solfège Illustré

1894 La revue blanche (The White Review)

1896 Exhibition poster for Les Peintres-Graveurs (The Painter-Printmakers)

1896 Salon des Cent

1897 Poster for L'Estampe et L'Affiche

1898 Poster for La Lithographie originale en couleurs

1914 Les Ballets Russes

1927 Preliminary drawing for a poster for Le Moulin-Rouge

1927 Preliminary drawing for Lire dans Le Figaro

1927  Lire dans Le Figaro

Album des Peintres-Graveurs

Femme au parapluie from the portfolio L'Album de la Revue Blanche

Le Figaro

Prliminary drawing for cover of Mandoline, morceaux de piano de Thomé

Quelques aspects de Paris

Reine de Joie

Pierre Bonnard - part 3 - lithographs

Self-portrait c1945 oil on canvas

This is the third of a four-part post on the works of French artist Pierre Bonnard. For biographical notes and paintings, see parts one and two.
A major figure of the Nabis movement, Pierre Bonnard (1867 - 1947) first gained fame for his lithographs and posters in the early 1890s, serving as inspiration for Toulouse-Lautrec, among others.
Far from academic considerations, and drawing on the clarity of Japanese prints (whence his nickname "Bonnard le Japonard"), his graphic style was spare and casual, characterised by bold design layouts, using refined tonal values and textures to evoke the bustle of urban life or the warm intimacy of an interior.
Stone lithography was invented in 1798, and it was the first new printmaking technique to emerge in about 300 years. Stone lithography became very popular as a medium by the 1830s. People used stone lithography to create colour art for books, as well as for more pedestrian things like labels, flyers and posters.
Stone lithography's popularity with artists came about because it was the first printmaking medium to allow the artist to naturally "paint" or "draw" onto a flat stone to create an image. The artist creates the work directly and naturally.
The artist draws/paints on the stone with a greasy substance. For example, a litho crayon is a soft waxy/greasy crayon. There are also litho paints and pencils. The stone picks up this greasy substance and holds it.
The stone is moistened with water. The parts of the stone not protected by the greasy paint soak up the water.
Oil-based ink is rolled onto the stone. The greasy parts of the stone pick up the ink, while the wet parts do not.
A piece of paper is pressed onto the stone, and the ink transfers from the stone to the paper.

Avenue du Bois

Boulevard

Coin de rue

Corbeille de fruits

Dans la rue

Femme dans sa baignoire

Frontispiece pour la Lithographie en Couleurs

Interieur

Jeune fille dans une barque

L'Enfante a la lampe

La Petite Blanchisseuse

Le Canotage

Le Tapis Rouge

Les Boulevards

Maison dans la cour

Marchand des quatre-saisons

Nu

Paysage de Normandie

Place Clichy

Rue vue d'en haut

Scene de famile

Scene de famile

Pierre Bonnard - part 2

c1889 Self-portrait

This is part two of a four-part post on the works of French artist Pierre Bonnard. For earlier works and biographical notes see part one below. Parts three and four will feature lithographs and the commercial works by Bonnard respectively.

c1921-3 Young Woman in the Garden

c1922-30 Standing Nude

1923 In front of the Window at Le Grand-Lemps

1923 Nude Bending Down

1924 Before Dinner

c1924 Nude, Yellow Background

1925 Nude in the Bath

1925 The Bath

1925 The Table

1925 The Window

1930 Bouquet

1930 The Provençal Jug

c1930 The Seine at Vernonnet

1932 La Toilette

1934-5 Dining Room on the Garden

1934-5 Table in front of the Window

c1936-8 The Yellow Boat

1939 Horse-hair Glove

1939 The Chequered Tablecloth

1939 The Terrace at Vernonnet

1940 Basket of Fruit, Oranges and Persimmons

1940 Nude Crouching in the Bath 

1940 The Dessert

1940 The Full-length Mirror

1946 Female Nude in Bathtub