Comprising 90 works from all aspects of the artist's career, including paintings, drawings, prints, photographs and sculpture, this book is the first to explore the connections between Bonnard's early and late styles through an in-depth examination of his artistic development and vision.
The book, which accompanies an exhibition at The Phillips Collection, Washington, and The Denver Art Museum, provides the cultural context necessary to dispel the myth of Bonnard as an artist of two minds (early and late), and examines his unique contribution to the history of European modernism.
The 90 full page color plates are each faced by a full page critical commentary. The plates are prefaced by two generously illustrated introductory essays: the first provides a study of the critical and historical discourse on Bonnard and considers why he has been misunderstood by critics and artists, including Picasso; the second examines Bonnard's later creative process in the light of the influence of Japonisme.