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3205
Impressionist & Modern Art
| 8
3205*
PIERRE BONNARD(Fontenay-aux-Roses 1867 - 1947 Le
Cannet)
Danseuses. Circa 1896.
Gouache and watercolour on paper on
canvas.
25.4 x 38.1 cm.
Provenance:
- Sotheby's London, 3 December 1980,
lot 124.
- Private collection, Germany.
Literature: Cf. Dauberville, Jean/Dauber-
ville Henry: Bonnard. Catalogue raisonné
de l'oeuvre peint révisé et augmenté
1888-1905, Paris 1992, vol. I, p. 178-179,
no. 143.
In the mid 1890s, Pierre Bonnard was
searching for scenes of life in the city of
Paris. The result was some of the most
important works by this artist.
We look down from a box at the theat-
re and see ballet dancers on the stage,
highlighted against the darkness of the
orchestra. The depiction, typical of the
Nabis, is very two-dimensional; the steep
perspective is consciously selected.
This present work is most likely a prepara-
tory study for an oil on board of the same
size, which was acquired at auction by the
Musée d’Orsay by right of first refusal in
Paris in December 2013 for over 300 000
Euros.
CHF 20 000 / 30 000
(€ 18 520 / 27 780)