2008 Woodie Awards
French friends are compared in BMA exhibit
The exhibit on Bonnard and Vuillard traces their careers through cultural club meetings and a shared love of lithography
Issue date: 4/24/08
Tucked inside the Cone Collection at the Baltimore Museum of Art, a new exhibit traces the careers of two French artists, Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947) and Édouard Vuillard (1868-1940.)
Having met in art school and then joined the cultural group Les Nabis, a post-Impressionistic avant-garde club that led the French art world in the 1890s, the two artists quickly became friends.
The shared influences are extremely evident, especially in the earlier works of the two artists They both experimented with flat, patterned surfaces, arbitrary color, expressive lines and unusual points of view.
However, despite the similarities, Bonnard and Vuillard had their distinctive flairs. Bonnard was often called the "Japanese Nabi" because he was greatly influenced by Japanese ukiyo-e woodcuts.
His early work featured unusual cropping, long and narrow forms, and highly detailed use of pattern; the latter became a highly recognizable motif throughout Bonnard's work.
These distinct characteristics are easily seen in the first piece in the exhibit, titled Family Scene.
Bonnard believed strongly that art should be a part of everday life and therefore used it as his unfailing subject throughout his work.
Vuillard, on the other hand, favored more delicate, domestic scenes that focused on the use of light and subtle palettes.
His work is often blurrred and soft with a focus on the atmosphere and "feeling" of the piece rather than the actual subjects.
The BMA exhibit does a nice job of contrasting the two artists' works. This is especially true at the beginning when two Bonnard prints, one personal and one commercial, are placed adjacent to two Vuillard pieces, one commercial and one personal.
One of the important aspects of both these artists' lives - and this is accentuated by the exhibit - is that they both designed posters, theater programs and advertisements to help pay their bills.
Vuillard worked almost entirely in the theater business while Bonnard contributed to a famous French literary magazine, La Revue blanche.
Having met in art school and then joined the cultural group Les Nabis, a post-Impressionistic avant-garde club that led the French art world in the 1890s, the two artists quickly became friends.
The shared influences are extremely evident, especially in the earlier works of the two artists They both experimented with flat, patterned surfaces, arbitrary color, expressive lines and unusual points of view.
However, despite the similarities, Bonnard and Vuillard had their distinctive flairs. Bonnard was often called the "Japanese Nabi" because he was greatly influenced by Japanese ukiyo-e woodcuts.
His early work featured unusual cropping, long and narrow forms, and highly detailed use of pattern; the latter became a highly recognizable motif throughout Bonnard's work.
These distinct characteristics are easily seen in the first piece in the exhibit, titled Family Scene.
Bonnard believed strongly that art should be a part of everday life and therefore used it as his unfailing subject throughout his work.
Vuillard, on the other hand, favored more delicate, domestic scenes that focused on the use of light and subtle palettes.
His work is often blurrred and soft with a focus on the atmosphere and "feeling" of the piece rather than the actual subjects.
The BMA exhibit does a nice job of contrasting the two artists' works. This is especially true at the beginning when two Bonnard prints, one personal and one commercial, are placed adjacent to two Vuillard pieces, one commercial and one personal.
One of the important aspects of both these artists' lives - and this is accentuated by the exhibit - is that they both designed posters, theater programs and advertisements to help pay their bills.
Vuillard worked almost entirely in the theater business while Bonnard contributed to a famous French literary magazine, La Revue blanche.
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