This article is part of a guide to Melbourne from FT Globetrotter
Pierre Bonnard: ‘La Sieste’ (1900)
Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947) was part of the “Nabis” (“prophets”) movement, which included Édouard Vuillard and Ker-Xavier Roussel, who fused art and design and were inspired by Japanese aesthetics and reverence of the natural world. They applied colour to flat surfaces rather than trying to imitate nature. Bonnard lived art history in reverse, inventing himself and later being inspired by the Impressionists.
La Sieste, originally called Sommeil when shown in 1905, is one of his greatest turning points, when he is on the cusp from being a great graphic designer to a great painter. It was bought from the artist by his dealer Ambroise Vollard and sold to the American writer and art collector Gertrude Stein, where it was on the wall when Picasso came to paint her portrait. She exchanged it for a Renoir, and it was eventually acquired by British art historian and museum director, Kenneth Clark. The painting passed through private collectors before being bought in 1949 by AJL McDonnell, one of the “Monuments Men” based in London, on behalf of the National Gallery of Victoria. It is one of our most requested paintings.
‘Pierre Bonnard’ is on at the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, from June 9–October 8 2023.
Ted Gott is senior curator of international art at the National Gallery of Victoria. He has curated and co-curated 25 exhibitions.
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