Books & Archaeology
Cart 0
Books & Archaeology
Cart 0
Léon Bonvin. A poetry of reality. 1834-1866.
Exhibition catalog in collaboration with the Custodia Foundation.

Léon Bonvin. A poetry of reality. 1834-1866.

Custodia Foundation
€35,00 €0,00
N° d'inventaire 26122
Format 21 x 28
Détails 304 p., illustrated, publisher's hardcover.
Publication Paris, 2022
Etat Nine
ISBN 9782958323417
Léon Bonvin did not achieve the same fame as his half-brother, François (1817–1887), who was a respected realist painter in the 19th century . Few sources and accounts of his life have survived. Most were written just after his early death—and often in reaction to it—before the memory of his career and work faded. Forced to devote his days to work at the family inn in Vaugirard, Léon Bonvin painted his watercolors away from the gaze of Parisian artistic and cultural circles.

He drew his inspiration from his immediate surroundings: bouquets of wild flowers simply arranged in a glass, kitchen still lifes, views of the still rural and working-class plain of Vaugirard. The sincerity with which he depicted the reality of his daily life led to an art of singular poetry. These intimate and touchingly truthful works are undoubtedly a great discovery for the public of the Fondation Custodia.

While the catalogue aims to be exhaustive, a selection of nearly seventy works by Léon Bonvin has been made for the exhibition. Nearly half of this selection comes from the substantial holdings of the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, assembled during the artist's lifetime by the American collector William Walters (1820–1894). Many other works also made the journey from the United States, where Léon Bonvin remains highly regarded. Closer to home, and in addition to the six Bonvin drawings held at the Fondation Custodia, the Musée d'Orsay also holds a significant collection of thirteen drawings by the artist. Private collectors have also demonstrated their generosity by granting numerous loans for this occasion.

Léon Bonvin did not achieve the same fame as his half-brother, François (1817–1887), who was a respected realist painter in the 19th century . Few sources and accounts of his life have survived. Most were written just after his early death—and often in reaction to it—before the memory of his career and work faded. Forced to devote his days to work at the family inn in Vaugirard, Léon Bonvin painted his watercolors away from the gaze of Parisian artistic and cultural circles.

He drew his inspiration from his immediate surroundings: bouquets of wild flowers simply arranged in a glass, kitchen still lifes, views of the still rural and working-class plain of Vaugirard. The sincerity with which he depicted the reality of his daily life led to an art of singular poetry. These intimate and touchingly truthful works are undoubtedly a great discovery for the public of the Fondation Custodia.

While the catalogue aims to be exhaustive, a selection of nearly seventy works by Léon Bonvin has been made for the exhibition. Nearly half of this selection comes from the substantial holdings of the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, assembled during the artist's lifetime by the American collector William Walters (1820–1894). Many other works also made the journey from the United States, where Léon Bonvin remains highly regarded. Closer to home, and in addition to the six Bonvin drawings held at the Fondation Custodia, the Musée d'Orsay also holds a significant collection of thirteen drawings by the artist. Private collectors have also demonstrated their generosity by granting numerous loans for this occasion.