Rating and value of paintings by Pierre Bonnard

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Rating and value of the artist Pierre Bonnard

Considered an important painter of modern art, Pierre Bonnard quickly established himself in the history of twentieth-century art. 

This legacy is made up of a variety of creations: mainly oils on canvas, including still lifes. 

At present, the prices of his works are rising enormously under the auctioneers' hammer. His still lifes are particularly prized, and the price at which they sell on the art market ranges from €10 to €15,133,200 - a considerable difference, but one that speaks volumes about the value that can be attributed to Pierre Bonnard's paintings.

In 2019, an oil on canvas, La Terrasse, dating from 1912, sold for €15,133,200 against an estimate of €4,450,000 to €7,121,500.

Order of value from a simple work to the most prestigious

Pierre Bonnard's style and technique

Pierre Bonnard, an essential figure of Post-Impressionism and a founding member of the Nabis, left his mark on art history with an intimate, sensitive approach, emphasizing light and color as vectors of emotion.
Through his work, he transcended traditional representation by exploring delicate compositions in which observation and memory combine to capture the fleeting essence of everyday life.

Bonnard, often compared to contemporaries such as Vuillard, Vlaminck or Deraindistinguished himself by his luminous palette and his desire to convey atmosphere rather than precise detail.

His still lifes occupy a central place in his work, a genre in which he has found a privileged space for his chromatic exploration.
These seemingly modest scenes reveal a depth in which each object - fruit, flowers, crockery - is part of a carefully orchestrated whole.

Flowers, recurrent in his compositions, are not mere decorative motifs but vibrant, almost living elements.
Their color, often saturated and deliberately removed from realism, becomes a means of evoking intense sensations.

Warm reds, bright yellows and soothing blues are applied in subtle strokes, reflecting both the immediacy of a memory and the prolonged reflection of a painter fascinated by the effects of light.

Similarly, fruit plays an essential role in Bonnard's still lifes. Bonnard uses them to experiment with textures and the play of light.
Oranges, figs and grapes, bathed in diffused light, seem to float in the space of the painting, transforming the scene into a chromatic reverie.

Light is omnipresent, enveloping these elements and giving his still lifes a visual poetry that goes far beyond the simple imitation of reality.

Another notable aspect of his still lifes is their often atypical staging. Bonnard's compositions are characterized by unexpected angles and tight framing, testifying to an eye that is both precise and intuitive.
Objects sometimes seem to emerge from the shadows or fade into the light, creating tableaux where the intimacy of everyday life is transformed into an almost dreamlike experience.

This constant interplay between reality and abstraction enabled Bonnard to evoke universal emotions from ordinary subjects.

In his still lifes, Bonnard sublimates the banal into a hymn to color and light.
With subtle technique and unrivaled sensitivity, he transforms every detail into a fragment of pure emotion, where color becomes a living memory and the poetry of everyday life is expressed in all its richness.

Pierre Bonnard's work in colorimetry

Pierre Bonnard, undisputed master of color, made colorimetry the core of his artistic work, relentlessly exploring chromatic subtleties to create compositions imbued with life and sensitivity.

For him, color is never a mere decorative element, but a powerful tool for translating nuances of light, atmosphere and emotion.

He often worked from visual memories, allowing him to interpret reality through a poetic prism, enriching his canvases with vibrant, unexpected hues. 

His rich, nuanced palette oscillates between brilliant tones and half-tones, playing on subtle contrasts to reinforce the intensity of his scenes.

Bonnard favored bold juxtapositions, combining deep reds with bright yellows or soft greens with intense purples, creating color harmonies that seem to vibrate in the viewer's eye.

This instinctive approach to color reflects his desire to go beyond realism to capture a more sensory truth, where each hue dialogues with the whole composition. 

His use of color is particularly remarkable in his play with light. Bonnard skilfully manipulated gradations and reflections to immerse his scenes in a soft, enveloping light.

Shadows, far from being monochrome, come in delicate variations, while illuminated areas radiate warmth and brilliance.

This meticulous work gives his paintings an almost tactile depth, where color seems to exist for its own sake while serving to magnify the subject.  

In Bonnard's work, colorimetry goes beyond technique to become a veritable visual language, a means of expressing the intangible.

Her colors, sometimes soothing, sometimes intense, finely convey the ephemerality of sensations and the poetry of everyday life, making each work a unique chromatic universe.

Pierre Bonnard's career

Pierre Bonnard, born in Fontenay-aux-Roses in 1867, was one of the most singular painters of his time, leaving a lasting mark on art history with his intimate, luminous vision of the world.

Trained at the Académie Julian and the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, he soon joined the Nabis, an avant-garde group inspired by Paul Gauguin, where he developed an aesthetic based on emotion and spirituality.

Nicknamed "le nabi très japonard" for his admiration of Japanese prints, his early works incorporated graphic and decorative influences that would remain at the heart of his art. 

Bonnard, however, turned away from the strict principles of the Nabis to assert himself in a more personal direction.

Throughout his career, he favored intimate, familiar scenes: light-filled interiors, Mediterranean landscapes and tender portraits.

Married to Marthe de Méligny, his partner and muse, he tirelessly portrayed her in intimate moments, capturing the poetry of everyday life with a unique sensitivity. 

His art, often described as postimpressionist, evolves towards an ever-deeper research into light and color, turning his canvases into vibrant spaces where emotion takes precedence over detail.

Although he often took a back seat on the Parisian art scene, Bonnard gained increasing recognition during his lifetime, exhibiting regularly at the Salon des Indépendants and the Salon d'Automne.

Her works, imbued with a timeless gentleness, bear witness to a deeply human view of the world, where every fragment of life becomes an infinite source of beauty.

The legacy of Pierre Bonnard

Pierre Bonnard's legacy is a celebration of color, light and intimacy, with a lasting influence on the generations of artists who followed him.

A true master of the suspended moment, he has succeeded in magnifying everyday life by giving it a poetic and universal dimension, inviting viewers to rediscover the beauty of simple moments.

His instinctive approach to composition and color, in which every hue seems to vibrate with emotion, has left its mark on major figures in modern and contemporary art, from Matisse to Rothko to the Expressionists. 

Bonnard also redefined the relationship with figurative painting at a time when abstraction was gaining ground. His work, halfway between reality and memory, demonstrates a unique balance between formal innovation and attachment to the visible.

Today, his works continue to captivate with their chromatic richness and emotional depth, making Bonnard a fixture in museums and collections around the world.

More than just a painter, he remains a poet of light, whose art invites infinite contemplation.

Pierre Bonnard's signature

Pierre Bonnard often signs his works, but his signature has changed over the years. Expertise is essential to ensure the authenticity of your work.

Knowing the value of a work

If you happen to own a painting by or after Pierre Bonnard, don't hesitate to request a free appraisal using the form on our website.

A member of our team of experts and certified auctioneers will contact you promptly to provide you with an estimate of the market value of your work, as well as any relevant information about it.

If you wish to sell your work of art, our specialists will also be on hand to help you sell it at the best possible price, taking into account market trends.