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PIERRE BONNARD (1867-1947)

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<div>Pierre Bonnard’s <em>La robe de chambre rouge (Marthe Bonnard)</em> (1912) is a richly intimate portrait of the artist’s lifelong muse and wife, Marthe de Meligny, painted at a moment when Bonnard was redefining modern interior painting through color, memory, and psychological nuance. Seated and absorbed in a private moment, Marthe is enveloped by a saturated red ground that presses close to the picture plane, dissolving traditional depth in favor of chromatic intensity. Her patterned robe and softly modeled face emerge through Bonnard’s layered brushwork, where color functions less as description than as emotional atmosphere. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div>Painted in 1912, the work was exhibited extensively from the year of its creation, appearing in seven exhibitions across Paris, Rotterdam, and Munich, signaling its immediate recognition within Bonnard’s circle and the broader European avant-garde. The painting also boasts a distinguished provenance, having passed through the collections of notable French Jewish collector Alphonse Kahn; Eugène Blot, the influential gallerist, collector, and sculpture castor; and Jacques Dupont, the celebrated Olympic cyclist. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div><em>La robe de chambre rouge</em> is published seven times, including Bonnard’s 1968 catalogue raisonné, where it is listed as no. 674. The artist’s portraits of Marthe occupy a central place in his oeuvre. Closely related examples are held in the permanent collections of major institutions such as the Tate, the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, underscoring the enduring significance of these deeply personal yet formally radical compositions. </div> <div>Pierre Bonnard’s <em>La robe de chambre rouge (Marthe Bonnard)</em> (1912) is a richly intimate portrait of the artist’s lifelong muse and wife, Marthe de Meligny, painted at a moment when Bonnard was redefining modern interior painting through color, memory, and psychological nuance. Seated and absorbed in a private moment, Marthe is enveloped by a saturated red ground that presses close to the picture plane, dissolving traditional depth in favor of chromatic intensity. Her patterned robe and softly modeled face emerge through Bonnard’s layered brushwork, where color functions less as description than as emotional atmosphere. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div>Painted in 1912, the work was exhibited extensively from the year of its creation, appearing in seven exhibitions across Paris, Rotterdam, and Munich, signaling its immediate recognition within Bonnard’s circle and the broader European avant-garde. The painting also boasts a distinguished provenance, having passed through the collections of notable French Jewish collector Alphonse Kahn; Eugène Blot, the influential gallerist, collector, and sculpture castor; and Jacques Dupont, the celebrated Olympic cyclist. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div><em>La robe de chambre rouge</em> is published seven times, including Bonnard’s 1968 catalogue raisonné, where it is listed as no. 674. The artist’s portraits of Marthe occupy a central place in his oeuvre. Closely related examples are held in the permanent collections of major institutions such as the Tate, the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, underscoring the enduring significance of these deeply personal yet formally radical compositions. </div> <div>Pierre Bonnard’s <em>La robe de chambre rouge (Marthe Bonnard)</em> (1912) is a richly intimate portrait of the artist’s lifelong muse and wife, Marthe de Meligny, painted at a moment when Bonnard was redefining modern interior painting through color, memory, and psychological nuance. Seated and absorbed in a private moment, Marthe is enveloped by a saturated red ground that presses close to the picture plane, dissolving traditional depth in favor of chromatic intensity. Her patterned robe and softly modeled face emerge through Bonnard’s layered brushwork, where color functions less as description than as emotional atmosphere. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div>Painted in 1912, the work was exhibited extensively from the year of its creation, appearing in seven exhibitions across Paris, Rotterdam, and Munich, signaling its immediate recognition within Bonnard’s circle and the broader European avant-garde. The painting also boasts a distinguished provenance, having passed through the collections of notable French Jewish collector Alphonse Kahn; Eugène Blot, the influential gallerist, collector, and sculpture castor; and Jacques Dupont, the celebrated Olympic cyclist. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div><em>La robe de chambre rouge</em> is published seven times, including Bonnard’s 1968 catalogue raisonné, where it is listed as no. 674. The artist’s portraits of Marthe occupy a central place in his oeuvre. Closely related examples are held in the permanent collections of major institutions such as the Tate, the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, underscoring the enduring significance of these deeply personal yet formally radical compositions. </div> <div>Pierre Bonnard’s <em>La robe de chambre rouge (Marthe Bonnard)</em> (1912) is a richly intimate portrait of the artist’s lifelong muse and wife, Marthe de Meligny, painted at a moment when Bonnard was redefining modern interior painting through color, memory, and psychological nuance. Seated and absorbed in a private moment, Marthe is enveloped by a saturated red ground that presses close to the picture plane, dissolving traditional depth in favor of chromatic intensity. Her patterned robe and softly modeled face emerge through Bonnard’s layered brushwork, where color functions less as description than as emotional atmosphere. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div>Painted in 1912, the work was exhibited extensively from the year of its creation, appearing in seven exhibitions across Paris, Rotterdam, and Munich, signaling its immediate recognition within Bonnard’s circle and the broader European avant-garde. The painting also boasts a distinguished provenance, having passed through the collections of notable French Jewish collector Alphonse Kahn; Eugène Blot, the influential gallerist, collector, and sculpture castor; and Jacques Dupont, the celebrated Olympic cyclist. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div><em>La robe de chambre rouge</em> is published seven times, including Bonnard’s 1968 catalogue raisonné, where it is listed as no. 674. The artist’s portraits of Marthe occupy a central place in his oeuvre. Closely related examples are held in the permanent collections of major institutions such as the Tate, the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, underscoring the enduring significance of these deeply personal yet formally radical compositions. </div> <div>Pierre Bonnard’s <em>La robe de chambre rouge (Marthe Bonnard)</em> (1912) is a richly intimate portrait of the artist’s lifelong muse and wife, Marthe de Meligny, painted at a moment when Bonnard was redefining modern interior painting through color, memory, and psychological nuance. Seated and absorbed in a private moment, Marthe is enveloped by a saturated red ground that presses close to the picture plane, dissolving traditional depth in favor of chromatic intensity. Her patterned robe and softly modeled face emerge through Bonnard’s layered brushwork, where color functions less as description than as emotional atmosphere. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div>Painted in 1912, the work was exhibited extensively from the year of its creation, appearing in seven exhibitions across Paris, Rotterdam, and Munich, signaling its immediate recognition within Bonnard’s circle and the broader European avant-garde. The painting also boasts a distinguished provenance, having passed through the collections of notable French Jewish collector Alphonse Kahn; Eugène Blot, the influential gallerist, collector, and sculpture castor; and Jacques Dupont, the celebrated Olympic cyclist. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div><em>La robe de chambre rouge</em> is published seven times, including Bonnard’s 1968 catalogue raisonné, where it is listed as no. 674. The artist’s portraits of Marthe occupy a central place in his oeuvre. Closely related examples are held in the permanent collections of major institutions such as the Tate, the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, underscoring the enduring significance of these deeply personal yet formally radical compositions. </div> <div>Pierre Bonnard’s <em>La robe de chambre rouge (Marthe Bonnard)</em> (1912) is a richly intimate portrait of the artist’s lifelong muse and wife, Marthe de Meligny, painted at a moment when Bonnard was redefining modern interior painting through color, memory, and psychological nuance. Seated and absorbed in a private moment, Marthe is enveloped by a saturated red ground that presses close to the picture plane, dissolving traditional depth in favor of chromatic intensity. Her patterned robe and softly modeled face emerge through Bonnard’s layered brushwork, where color functions less as description than as emotional atmosphere. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div>Painted in 1912, the work was exhibited extensively from the year of its creation, appearing in seven exhibitions across Paris, Rotterdam, and Munich, signaling its immediate recognition within Bonnard’s circle and the broader European avant-garde. The painting also boasts a distinguished provenance, having passed through the collections of notable French Jewish collector Alphonse Kahn; Eugène Blot, the influential gallerist, collector, and sculpture castor; and Jacques Dupont, the celebrated Olympic cyclist. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div><em>La robe de chambre rouge</em> is published seven times, including Bonnard’s 1968 catalogue raisonné, where it is listed as no. 674. The artist’s portraits of Marthe occupy a central place in his oeuvre. Closely related examples are held in the permanent collections of major institutions such as the Tate, the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, underscoring the enduring significance of these deeply personal yet formally radical compositions. </div> <div>Pierre Bonnard’s <em>La robe de chambre rouge (Marthe Bonnard)</em> (1912) is a richly intimate portrait of the artist’s lifelong muse and wife, Marthe de Meligny, painted at a moment when Bonnard was redefining modern interior painting through color, memory, and psychological nuance. Seated and absorbed in a private moment, Marthe is enveloped by a saturated red ground that presses close to the picture plane, dissolving traditional depth in favor of chromatic intensity. Her patterned robe and softly modeled face emerge through Bonnard’s layered brushwork, where color functions less as description than as emotional atmosphere. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div>Painted in 1912, the work was exhibited extensively from the year of its creation, appearing in seven exhibitions across Paris, Rotterdam, and Munich, signaling its immediate recognition within Bonnard’s circle and the broader European avant-garde. The painting also boasts a distinguished provenance, having passed through the collections of notable French Jewish collector Alphonse Kahn; Eugène Blot, the influential gallerist, collector, and sculpture castor; and Jacques Dupont, the celebrated Olympic cyclist. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div><em>La robe de chambre rouge</em> is published seven times, including Bonnard’s 1968 catalogue raisonné, where it is listed as no. 674. The artist’s portraits of Marthe occupy a central place in his oeuvre. Closely related examples are held in the permanent collections of major institutions such as the Tate, the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, underscoring the enduring significance of these deeply personal yet formally radical compositions. </div> <div>Pierre Bonnard’s <em>La robe de chambre rouge (Marthe Bonnard)</em> (1912) is a richly intimate portrait of the artist’s lifelong muse and wife, Marthe de Meligny, painted at a moment when Bonnard was redefining modern interior painting through color, memory, and psychological nuance. Seated and absorbed in a private moment, Marthe is enveloped by a saturated red ground that presses close to the picture plane, dissolving traditional depth in favor of chromatic intensity. Her patterned robe and softly modeled face emerge through Bonnard’s layered brushwork, where color functions less as description than as emotional atmosphere. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div>Painted in 1912, the work was exhibited extensively from the year of its creation, appearing in seven exhibitions across Paris, Rotterdam, and Munich, signaling its immediate recognition within Bonnard’s circle and the broader European avant-garde. The painting also boasts a distinguished provenance, having passed through the collections of notable French Jewish collector Alphonse Kahn; Eugène Blot, the influential gallerist, collector, and sculpture castor; and Jacques Dupont, the celebrated Olympic cyclist. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div><em>La robe de chambre rouge</em> is published seven times, including Bonnard’s 1968 catalogue raisonné, where it is listed as no. 674. The artist’s portraits of Marthe occupy a central place in his oeuvre. Closely related examples are held in the permanent collections of major institutions such as the Tate, the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, underscoring the enduring significance of these deeply personal yet formally radical compositions. </div> <div>Pierre Bonnard’s <em>La robe de chambre rouge (Marthe Bonnard)</em> (1912) is a richly intimate portrait of the artist’s lifelong muse and wife, Marthe de Meligny, painted at a moment when Bonnard was redefining modern interior painting through color, memory, and psychological nuance. Seated and absorbed in a private moment, Marthe is enveloped by a saturated red ground that presses close to the picture plane, dissolving traditional depth in favor of chromatic intensity. Her patterned robe and softly modeled face emerge through Bonnard’s layered brushwork, where color functions less as description than as emotional atmosphere. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div>Painted in 1912, the work was exhibited extensively from the year of its creation, appearing in seven exhibitions across Paris, Rotterdam, and Munich, signaling its immediate recognition within Bonnard’s circle and the broader European avant-garde. The painting also boasts a distinguished provenance, having passed through the collections of notable French Jewish collector Alphonse Kahn; Eugène Blot, the influential gallerist, collector, and sculpture castor; and Jacques Dupont, the celebrated Olympic cyclist. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div><em>La robe de chambre rouge</em> is published seven times, including Bonnard’s 1968 catalogue raisonné, where it is listed as no. 674. The artist’s portraits of Marthe occupy a central place in his oeuvre. Closely related examples are held in the permanent collections of major institutions such as the Tate, the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, underscoring the enduring significance of these deeply personal yet formally radical compositions. </div> <div>Pierre Bonnard’s <em>La robe de chambre rouge (Marthe Bonnard)</em> (1912) is a richly intimate portrait of the artist’s lifelong muse and wife, Marthe de Meligny, painted at a moment when Bonnard was redefining modern interior painting through color, memory, and psychological nuance. Seated and absorbed in a private moment, Marthe is enveloped by a saturated red ground that presses close to the picture plane, dissolving traditional depth in favor of chromatic intensity. Her patterned robe and softly modeled face emerge through Bonnard’s layered brushwork, where color functions less as description than as emotional atmosphere. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div>Painted in 1912, the work was exhibited extensively from the year of its creation, appearing in seven exhibitions across Paris, Rotterdam, and Munich, signaling its immediate recognition within Bonnard’s circle and the broader European avant-garde. The painting also boasts a distinguished provenance, having passed through the collections of notable French Jewish collector Alphonse Kahn; Eugène Blot, the influential gallerist, collector, and sculpture castor; and Jacques Dupont, the celebrated Olympic cyclist. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div><em>La robe de chambre rouge</em> is published seven times, including Bonnard’s 1968 catalogue raisonné, where it is listed as no. 674. The artist’s portraits of Marthe occupy a central place in his oeuvre. Closely related examples are held in the permanent collections of major institutions such as the Tate, the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, underscoring the enduring significance of these deeply personal yet formally radical compositions. </div>
La robe de chambre rouge (Marthe Bonnard)191221 x 27 1/4 in.(53.34 x 69.22 cm) oil on canvas
Provenance
Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris, acquired from the artist
Alphonse Kahn, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, acquired from the above
Me Lair-Dubreuil, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, November 20, 1922, lot 40 (titled 'La robe de chambre orange')
Eugène Blot, Paris, acquired at the above sale
Me Baudoin, Paris, June 2, 1933, lot 33 (titled 'Femme assise dans un intérieur')
Collection Huet, Paris, acquired at the above sale
Jacques Dupont, Paris, December 1940
Private Collection, by descent from above
Christie’s, Paris, O...More...ctober 17, 2018, lot 37
Private Collection, acquired at the above sale
Exhibition
Paris, Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Bonnard, Œuvres récentes, June 17 – July 6, 1912, no. 15
Paris, Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Pierre Bonnard, Œuvres récentes, May 19 – June 7, 1913
Paris, Galerie d'art Braun & Cie, Portraits de Pierre Bonnard, June 1933, no. 21, p. 4 (titled 'Portrait de femme au turban’)
Paris, Galerie Frommont, La compagne du peintre, 1953
Rotterdam, Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Bonnard, 1953, no. 45 (dated 'vers 1910-11')
Paris, Maison de la Pensée française, Pierre Bonnard, Summer 1955, no. 20
Munich, Haus der Kunst; Paris, Orangerie des Tuileries, Pierre Bonnard, Centenaire de sa naissance, October 8, 1966 – April 15, 1967, no. 75
Literature
Le courrier européen, May 23, 1913 (illustrated, titled Étude de femme)
Gustave Coquiot, Les indépendants, 1884-1920, Paris, 1921, p. 78-79 (illustrated)
Gustave Coquiot, Bonnard, Paris, 1922, p. 54 (titled 'La robe de chambre orangée')
Léon Werth, Bonnard, Paris, 1923 (illustrated, pl. 25)
André Fage, Le collectionneur des peintures modernes, Paris, 1930, p. 252
Galerie d'art Braun & Cie, Portraits de Pierre Bonnard, Paris, 1933, no. 21, p. 4 (titled 'Portrait de femme au turban’)
M.-T. Mauguis, Arts, June 25, 1955
Haus der Kunst & Orangerie des Tuileries, Pierre Bonnard, Centenaire de sa naissance, Munich & Paris, 1967, no. 75 (illustrated)
Raymond Cogniat, Bonnard, Paris, 1968 (illustrated on the cover)
Jean & Henry Dauberville, Bonnard, Catalogue raisonné de l'œuvre peint, 1906-1919, Paris, 1968, vol. II, no. 674, p. 247 (illustrated)
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Pierre Bonnard’s La robe de chambre rouge (Marthe Bonnard) (1912) is a richly intimate portrait of the artist’s lifelong muse and wife, Marthe de Meligny, painted at a moment when Bonnard was redefining modern interior painting through color, memory, and psychological nuance. Seated and absorbed in a private moment, Marthe is enveloped by a saturated red ground that presses close to the picture plane, dissolving traditional depth in favor of chromatic intensity. Her patterned robe and softly modeled face emerge through Bonnard’s layered brushwork, where color functions less as description than as emotional atmosphere.


 


Painted in 1912, the work was exhibited extensively from the year of its creation, appearing in seven exhibitions across Paris, Rotterdam, and Munich, signaling its immediate recognition within Bonnard’s circle and the broader European avant-garde. The painting also boasts a distinguished provenance, having passed through the collections of notable French Jewish collector Alphonse Kahn; Eugène Blot, the influential gallerist, collector, and sculpture castor; and Jacques Dupont, the celebrated Olympic cyclist.


 


La robe de chambre rouge is published seven times, including Bonnard’s 1968 catalogue raisonné, where it is listed as no. 674. The artist’s portraits of Marthe occupy a central place in his oeuvre. Closely related examples are held in the permanent collections of major institutions such as the Tate, the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, underscoring the enduring significance of these deeply personal yet formally radical compositions.
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