Observations on painting.
The Contemporary Workshop| N° d'inventaire | 22148 |
| Format | 16 x 20 |
| Détails | 72 p., color illustrations, paperback. |
| Publication | Strasbourg, 2019 |
| Etat | Nine |
| ISBN | 9791092444728 |
Bonnard used his diaries as notebooks for notes and sketches. While some diaries dating from before 1927 have been lost or are still in private hands, those preserved in the Department of Prints and Photography at the Bibliothèque nationale de France have the merit of presenting a homogeneous collection of drawings sketched on the spot and annotations made by the artist over the days between 1927 and 1946. Bonnard used small diaries, "Bijou" or "Mignon", which he could keep with him at all times and in which he wrote and drew almost daily. The artist recorded elements that may seem prosaic, such as the shopping list and his appointments. He also noted the weather daily, an important element for a painter attentive to the effects of light and his location when he was traveling. There are also some strictly artistic notations. These notes reflect the artist's perpetual search for visual means capable of conveying emotion. "It's not about painting life. It's about bringing painting to life." These remarks are much more intuitions born from his experience as a painter than the statement of artistic theories. These diaries contain, above all, multiple sketches that allow us to understand his constant research into the motifs he focused on during these years. He noted down a whole repertoire of forms that he later used or not in his paintings: nudes, portraits, sometimes landscapes. Motifs borrowed from his daily life are very present: portraits of his loved ones, pets, familiar places. He sometimes revolved around a subject, playing with framing and composition, without worrying about color. His research into nudes at the toilet is particularly revealing of this approach. We thus witness the genesis of nudes in the bath. There are also several portraits, a recurring theme in his work, particularly at the end of his life. Landscapes, often sketched during vacations, are also numerous and are more present than in his paintings. These drawings allow the artist to delineate his subjects, to determine their contours and volumes without resorting to color. Some are limited to a few lines translating a fleeting vision. The motifs most often emerge from a profusion of hatched lines that suggest shadow and volume, and seem to evoke colors. These notebooks allow us to enter the artist's intimacy and to grasp his perpetual artistic quest on a daily basis.
Bonnard used his diaries as notebooks for notes and sketches. While some diaries dating from before 1927 have been lost or are still in private hands, those preserved in the Department of Prints and Photography at the Bibliothèque nationale de France have the merit of presenting a homogeneous collection of drawings sketched on the spot and annotations made by the artist over the days between 1927 and 1946. Bonnard used small diaries, "Bijou" or "Mignon", which he could keep with him at all times and in which he wrote and drew almost daily. The artist recorded elements that may seem prosaic, such as the shopping list and his appointments. He also noted the weather daily, an important element for a painter attentive to the effects of light and his location when he was traveling. There are also some strictly artistic notations. These notes reflect the artist's perpetual search for visual means capable of conveying emotion. "It's not about painting life. It's about bringing painting to life." These remarks are much more intuitions born from his experience as a painter than the statement of artistic theories. These diaries contain, above all, multiple sketches that allow us to understand his constant research into the motifs he focused on during these years. He noted down a whole repertoire of forms that he later used or not in his paintings: nudes, portraits, sometimes landscapes. Motifs borrowed from his daily life are very present: portraits of his loved ones, pets, familiar places. He sometimes revolved around a subject, playing with framing and composition, without worrying about color. His research into nudes at the toilet is particularly revealing of this approach. We thus witness the genesis of nudes in the bath. There are also several portraits, a recurring theme in his work, particularly at the end of his life. Landscapes, often sketched during vacations, are also numerous and are more present than in his paintings. These drawings allow the artist to delineate his subjects, to determine their contours and volumes without resorting to color. Some are limited to a few lines translating a fleeting vision. The motifs most often emerge from a profusion of hatched lines that suggest shadow and volume, and seem to evoke colors. These notebooks allow us to enter the artist's intimacy and to grasp his perpetual artistic quest on a daily basis.