Bonnard spent time in his garden each day, although he was not a gardener as such. Art historian John Rewald, who visited the artist shortly before his death in 1947, wrote: ‘Bonnard’s pink house at Le Cannet, shrouded by greenery, dominates a hill down which orange, olive and almond trees cascade in terraces to the Mediterranean. The painter was particularly fond of mimosas. He would not tolerate the hand of man in nature, and as a result his garden was overgrown, its narrow paths almost choked with wild plants and flowers’.
This painting suggests the solace Bonnard found in nature following Marthe de Méligny’s death in January 1942.
Pierre Bonnard
French 1867–1947
Stairs in the artist’s garden (L'Escalier dans le jardin) 1942–44
oil on canvas
60.0 × 73.0 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection (1970.17.11)
Photo: National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
