An artwork on Galleree from The Art Institute of Chicago.
About the artwork
Earthly ParadisePierre Bonnard
French, 1867–1947
1916–20
France
130 × 160 cm (51 1/4 × 63 in.)
Oil on canvas
Estate of Joanne Toor Cummings; Bette and Neison Harris and Searle Family Trust endowments; through prior gifts of Mrs. Henry C. Woods
['Post-Impressionism']
['landscapes', 'religious scenes', 'circles', 'Christianity', 'Christian subjects', 'biblical', 'Eve (Biblical)', 'Adam (Biblical)', 'nudes', 'gardens', 'plants', 'trees', 'women', 'men']
['oil on canvas', 'painting', 'modern and contemporary art']
['oil paint (paint)', 'canvas']
['oil painting', 'painting (image making)']
['Essentials']
Following a period spent producing Parisian scenes in the style of Édouard Vuillard and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Pierre Bonnard virtually reinvented his art around 1905. The artist’s new emphasis on large-scale compositions, bold forms, and brilliant colors shows his awareness of the work of his contemporaries Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso, as does his focus on Arcadian landscapes, a theme he had not previously explored. Part of a series of four canvases painted for his dealers, Josse and Gaston Bernheim, between 1916 and 1920, Earthly Paradise demonstrates Bonnard’s new, daring investigations of light, color, and space. Here the artist used foliage to create a proscenium-like arch for a drama involving a brooding Adam and recumbent Eve. The contrast Bonnard established between the figures seems to follow a tradition in which the female, presented as essentially sexual, is connected with nature, while the male, essentially intellectual, is able to transcend the earthly. Heightening the image’s ambiguity is an array of animals, including birds, a monkey, rabbits, and a serpent (here reduced to a garden snake). This less-than-Edenic paradise may reflect the artist’s response to the destruction of Europe during World War I, which was still raging when he began the painting.
| attributed to Art Institute of Chicago under CC-By license
In the quiet corridors of time, a transformation took place in the heart of Pierre Bonnard around the year 1905. After a period of channeling the vibrant energy of Parisian life, often echoing the styles of masters like Édouard Vuillard and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Bonnard felt the stirring of something new within him. It was as if the colors and forms were calling him to explore beyond the boundaries he had once known.
This awakening led him to embrace a bold and daring new world, rich with large-scale canvases and an explosion of brilliant hues. Inspired by the unique perspectives of his contemporaries—Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso—Bonnard ventured into uncharted territory, awakening the Arcadian landscapes that had remained dormant in his artistic consciousness. It was a period of exploration and risk, marked by an eagerness to transcend conventional representations.
Between the years 1916 and 1920, Bonnard dedicated himself to a series of four canvases commissioned by his art dealers, Josse and Gaston Bernheim. Among these, one stood out like a rare gem—Earthly Paradise. In it, Bonnard summoned his newfound vision, employing light, color, and space with a bravery that ignited the senses. The scene unfolded like a theatrical production beneath a lush canopy of foliage, which framed the figures of Adam and Eve much like a grand arch beckoning the audience into a compelling narrative.
In this interpretation of Paradise, the artist revealed an intriguing duality. Adam, with a pensive aura, embodied the realm of intellect, his distance from the earth both tangible and symbolic. Eve, on the other hand, was intimately entwined with nature, a representation of profound femininity and sensuality. The contrast between them was not merely aesthetic; it was steeped in the rich tapestry of tradition that juxtaposed male thought with female being.
Yet Bonnard did not stop there. Within this earthly Eden, a veritable menagerie emerged—a delightful ensemble of creatures: birds chirped in conversation, a monkey swung from the foliage, rabbits nestled in the underbrush, and even a serpent, simplified to a mere garden snake, slithered through the scene. This gathering of animals heightened the painting’s ambiguity, inviting viewers to ponder—was this paradise truly serene or rather a reflection of humanity’s complexities?
As the shadow of World War I loomed over Europe, its destruction echoing in every brushstroke, Bonnard’s Earthly Paradise became more than just a work of art; it transformed into a poignant meditation on the contrast between chaos and beauty, a private response to the tumult that surrounded him. Beneath the vibrant colors and bold formations, one could glimpse the artist’s introspection—a quiet contemplation in an age of upheaval, a search for solace within the confines of an imperfect paradise.
About the artist
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