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Pierre Bonnard , French, 1867-1947

Title

Boy Eating Cherries

Date1895

MediumOil on board

Dimensions

52 x 41 cm

Signedlower right: P Bonnard 95

Credit LinePresented, in memory of May Guinness, 1982

Object numberNGI.4356

ProvenanceAcquired, Paris, pre World War I, possibly from the artist, by Miss May Guinness; from whom acquired, Lord Moyne, c.1950; presented, Lord and Lady Moyne, in memory of their cousin and former owner, May Guinness, 1982Exhibition HistoryLoan Exhibition of Modern Continental Paintings, National College of Art, Dublin 1944
Bonnard, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1966

Bonnard, Haus der Kunst, Munich; Orangerie des Tuileries, Paris, 1966-1967

Exhibition of Acquisitions 1981-1982, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 30 September 1982 - 2 January 1983

Bonnard, Nottingham Castle Museum, Nottingham, 1984

Pierre Bonnard, Isetan Museum of Art, Shinjuku, Tokyo; Sogo Museum of Art, Nara; Sogo Museum of Art, Yokohama; Fukuoka Art Museum, Fukuoka, 1991

French 19th and 20th Century Paintings from the National Gallery of Ireland: Corot to Picasso, Daimaru Museum, Tokyo, 5 September-17 September 1996; Daimaru Museum, Kyoto, 10 October-22 October 1996; Kawaguchiko Museum of Art, Yamanashi, 26 October-2 December 1996; Daimaru Museum, Umeda,Osaka, 22 January-9 February 1997; Aomori Municpal Gallery of Art, Aomori, 2 April-20 April 1997

Gaugin & The Origins of Symbolism, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, 28 September 2004 – 9 January 2005

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

Private Lives: Home and Family in the Art of the Nabis, 1890-1900, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, 27 June-20 September 2021; Portland Art Museum, Portland, 24 October 2021-23 January 2022

Label TextThis scene is one of many that Bonnard painted at his familial home at Le Grand Lemps during the 1890s. It shows the artist’s nephew, Jean, eating cherries in the company of his grandmother (Bonnard’s mother). Domestic interiors were a key source of inspiration for Bonnard. Here, as is typical of his work, the close cropping of the composition enhances the intimacy of the scene. Bonnard’s portrayal of the dish, wallpaper, and boy’s checked smock reveal his enduring interest in pattern and decoration.