Born in 1867, Pierre Bonnard was a French artist with a unique style that flourished from his interactions with some of the most influential artists of the time. Bonnard developed as an artist during the Post Impressionist movement (1886-1905), which influenced his aesthetic in painting and printmaking. His painting, After the Shower, completed in 1914, is currently exhibited in the Philadelphia Museum of Art as part of their Modern Exhibition. This composition was completed shortly after the “Les Nabis” art movement ceased, thus including many elements influenced by Avantgarde painting. In 1886, Pierre Bonnard was seeking a degree in law while he attended the Academie Julian in Paris. This is where he made various connections with famous
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He was able to digest all the movements and styles of his time and indirectly express them through his art. His After the Shower interpretation proves that he was a truly autonomous artist, thriving by his own merit. Many artists such as Sérusier and Degas influenced Bonnard’s paintings by showing him new ways of thinking that, ultimately, influenced the subject matter of his art. But Bonnard’s independence from the Post Impressionist Parisian culture defines him as an artist capable of painting anything and everything. He had a long life, dying at the age of 80; however, his great work never stopped. His forties were his prime years, when he created After the Shower and so many more great pieces of art that express his way of looking at the world. For him, being a successful artist was not only about making a painting look pretty, but rather to be able to experience a moment and translate the sensations that go along with it into a canvas. The viewer is not supposed to see the scene as it is in reality, they are supposed to feel the emotions that go along with the particular subject; they have to able to make sense out of the mesh of colors and skewed shapes. Bonnard’s paintings reflect his internal reality, the way he intuitively feels colors and analyzes shapes, and thus his genius comes from his ability to transfer all of that which is ineffable onto a brilliant
He was able to digest all the movements and styles of his time and indirectly express them through his art. His After the Shower interpretation proves that he was a truly autonomous artist, thriving by his own merit. Many artists such as Sérusier and Degas influenced Bonnard’s paintings by showing him new ways of thinking that, ultimately, influenced the subject matter of his art. But Bonnard’s independence from the Post Impressionist Parisian culture defines him as an artist capable of painting anything and everything. He had a long life, dying at the age of 80; however, his great work never stopped. His forties were his prime years, when he created After the Shower and so many more great pieces of art that express his way of looking at the world. For him, being a successful artist was not only about making a painting look pretty, but rather to be able to experience a moment and translate the sensations that go along with it into a canvas. The viewer is not supposed to see the scene as it is in reality, they are supposed to feel the emotions that go along with the particular subject; they have to able to make sense out of the mesh of colors and skewed shapes. Bonnard’s paintings reflect his internal reality, the way he intuitively feels colors and analyzes shapes, and thus his genius comes from his ability to transfer all of that which is ineffable onto a brilliant