Pierre Bonnard, French, 1867-1947
Title: Le Déjeuner
Date: 1923
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
41.3 x 62.2 cm
Signed: upper right: Bonnard
Credit Line: Purchased, 2006
Object Number: NGI.2006.23
DescriptionThis vibrantly coloured scene is set in Ma Roulotte (My Caravan), Bonnard’s country house at Vernonnet in the Seine Valley. The artist had purchased the house in 1912 and for several decades its light-filled interior, sunny terrace and verdant grounds provided inspiration for him to explore the effects of light and colour.
The woman pictured at the dining table is Marthe de Méligny, the artist’s companion
and future wife. Her distinctive red blouse features in a number of paintings made by Bonnard at the time. A man, thought to be Bonnard, sits opposite. Their relaxed poses, along with the crumpled napkin and casual table setting, convey a sense of informality, warmth and ease. The bold diagonal stripes of the tablecloth playfully distort perspective and enhance the decorative nature of the scene. Bonnard is likely to have painted Le Déjeuner in his studio, working from sketches, photos and memory to create a composite of real and imagined details. He enjoyed renewed success in the 1920s; Henri Matisse and Paul Signac, who were similarly preoccupied with colour and pattern, greatly admired his work.

March 2016
ProvenancePurchased from the artist by Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris, 1923; puchased by M. Knoedler & Co. Inc., New York, 1927; purchased by Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris, 1930; purchased by L'Art Moderne, Lucerne; purchased by Seligmann Galleries, New York; purchased by Stephen Carlton Clark, New York, 1931; presented to The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1937; purchased by Richard L. Feigen and Co., New York, 1971; purchased by Mr and Mrs Philip Levin, 21 April 1971; presented to The Philip and Janice Levin Foundation, 2001; purchased at Christie's, New York, 8 November 2006, Impressionist and Modern Art sale, lot 21.
Exhibition HistoryXVIIie Exposition Internationale des Beaux-arts, Venice, 1930

Cooper Union Museum, New York, 1934

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1938

Paintings by Bonnard and Vuillard, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, 1938-1939

Golden Gate International Exposition, Treasure Island, San Francisco, 1939-1940

Twentieth-Century Paintings, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1940-1941

Objects as Subjects, Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1945-1947

The School of Paris, Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach, 1948

Pierre Bonnard, Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland; The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1948

Impressionism, University School of Art, Syracuse; New York, 1949

From Delacroix to the Neo-Impressionists, Lyman Allyn Art Museum, Connecticut College, New London, 1950

Group Exhibition, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1950

Fine Art Painting Summer Exhibition, University of Colorado, Boulder, 1951

Paintings and Sculpture from the Museum of Modern Art Collection, Akron Art Institute, Ohio, 1951

Still Life, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1951-1953

Bonnard, Musee de Lyon, 1954

Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Exhibition, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1954-1955

Exhibition in conjunction with the Washington-Rochambeau Celebration, The Preservation Society, Newport, 1955

French and American Impressionism, Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, South Hadley, 1956

The Art of Eating: A Loan Exhibition, The John and Mable Ringling Museum, Sarasota, 1956

Loan Exhibition of works by Pierre Bonnard, Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach, 1957

Pierre Bonnard, Royal Academy, London, 1966

A Very Private Collection: Janice H. Levin's Impressionist Pictures, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2002-2003

An Impressionist Eye: Painting and Sculpture from the Philip and Janice Levin Foundation, The Birmingham Museum of Art and elsewhere, 2004-2005

Impressionist Interiors, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 10 May - 10 August 2008

Lines of Vision. Irish Writers at the National Gallery of Ireland, 8 October 2014 —12 April 2015
Label TextThis scene is set in the dining room of Bonnard’s country house at Vernonnet in the Seine valley. The woman in the red blouse is Marthe de Méligny, the artist’s muse, model, and future wife. The man is believed to be Bonnard. Their relaxed poses and the informal setting convey a sense of intimacy and ease. Bonnard’s use of varied pattern and vibrant colour enhances the convivial atmosphere of the scene.

This website uses cookies

We use optional cookies to enhance your user experience and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you’ve provided to them or that they’ve collected from your use of their services.

Details

About Cookies

Cookies are small text files that can be used by websites to make a user's experience more efficient. The law states that we can store cookies on your device if they are strictly necessary for the operation of this site. For all other types of cookies we need your permission. This site uses different types of cookies. Some cookies are placed by third party services that appear on our pages. You can at any time change or withdraw your consent from the Cookie Declaration on our website. Learn more about who we are, how you can contact us and how we process personal data in our Privacy Policy. Please state your consent ID and date when you contact us regarding your consent.

Necessary Cookies

Necessary cookies help make a website usable by enabling basic functions like page navigation and access to secure areas of the website. The website cannot function properly without these cookies.

NameProviderPurposeExpiryType
JSESSIONIDeMuseumUser SessionSessionHTTP

Statistics Cookies

Statistic cookies help website owners to understand how visitors interact with websites by collecting and reporting information anonymously.

NameProviderPurposeExpiryType
_gaGoogle Tag ManagerRegisters a unique ID that is used to generate statistical data on how the visitor uses the website.2 yearsJavaScript
_gidGoogle Tag ManagerRegisters a unique ID that is used to generate statistical data on how the visitor uses the website.1 dayJavaScript