This major presentation of the work of Pierre Bonnard follows a new line of enquiry reconciling what has previously been seen as two distinct early and late creative periods: the Nabis or symbolist Bonnard and the later so-called 'Impressionist' or colorist Bonnard. By uniting representative works from all periods of Bonnard's life, this book charts the artist's singular pathway and illustrates his highly independent artistic vision.

This major presentation of the work of Pierre Bonnard follows a new line of enquiry reconciling what has previously been seen as two distinct early and late creative periods: the Nabis or symbolist Bonnard and the later so-called 'Impressionist' or colorist Bonnard. By uniting representative works from all periods of Bonnard's life, this book charts the artist's singular pathway and illustrates his highly independent artistic vision.

The more than 13o works illustrated here, including paintings, drawings, prints, photographs and sculpture, show that Bonnard continually experimented with alternative media and drew from a range of sources, both Eastern and Western. Above all,this book demonstrates Bonnard's overriding and lifelong interest in color. Three introductory essays explore diverse aspects of Bonnard's work: his aesthetic innovations in light and color stemming from inventions in photography and film; the influence of Japonisme in his early and late work; and the critical role played by Bonnard's early formative education in Parisian lycees.

The resulting volume, which accompanies an exhibition at The Phillips Collection, Washington,D.C., and the Denver Art Museum, will be essential for all lovers of the work of Pierre Bonnard and of great value to students and connoisseurs of the history of European modernism.

Statement by Henri Cartier-Bresson

Statement by Michel Terrasse

Director's Foreword

Lenders List

Chronology (by Elsa M. Smittigall with a

 contribution by Lisa Lipinski)

The Imaginary Cinema of Pierre Bonnard

 (by Elizabeth Hutton Turner)

Plate Section 1: Early Years

From Thought to Form

 (by Nancy Coleman Wolsk)

Plate Section 2: Middle Years

Japonisme in Bonnard's Early and Late Work

 (by Ursula Perucchi-Petri)

Plate Section 3: Later Years

Bonnard's Notes (by Antoine Terrasse)

Works in the Exhibition

Selected Bibliography

Notes

Photographic Credits

Index