Pierre BonnardBonnard at Le Cannet
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In an unprecedented collaboration with the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris is, for the first time, exhibiting the important Paysage au Cannet (Landscape at Le Cannet) by Pierre Bonnard alongside the artist's portrait by Édouard Vuillard, acquired by the City of Paris in 1937.
These two works owe their connection to the attentive eye of Vuillard, who chose to depict his friend beside the Paysage au Cannet in a remarkable mise en abyme painting. While Bonnard himself is clearly recognisable, the representation of his painting in this portrait acts as a powerful artistic signature. Vuillard paid tribute to his friend by skillfully depicting the Paysage au Cannet in great detail, capturing the painter's colourful, sensitive touch.
This exceptional presentation of the two artworks is accompanied by other paintings by Bonnard belonging to the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, and a loan from the Centre Pompidou.
Together, these paintings evoke the time Bonnard and his wife Marthe – who was the model for Nu dans le bain (Nude in the Bath) and Femme à sa toilette (Woman at Her Toilette) – lived at the villa “Le Bosquet” in Le Cannet. The house and surrounding garden became a limitless source of inspiration for the painter. Bonnard immortalises the view above the villa in Paysage au Cannet, while in L'Atelier au Mimosa, he invites us to contemplate the same landscape from the window of his studio, revealing another perspective of this beloved place. The abundant greenery around the house is also evident in Le Jardin (The Garden), where the vibrant colours of the different flowers and plants, combined with the depth of the canvas, invite us to follow in the artist's footsteps.
Landscape at Le Cannet
Kimbell Art Museum
