Woman with a dove.

Born near Paris, Pierre Bonnard initially studied law, but by the late 1880s had given this up for painting. In 1887 he met the artists Edouard Vuillard, Maurice Denis and Paul Serusier. Taking their inspiration from Paul Gauguin, in 1888 they formed the Nabis group (the name derives from the Hebrew word for 'Prophets'). In 1912 Bonnard bought a house in Vernonnet, a village on the Seine, north west of Paris. He spent most of his time there until 1925, when he moved to the south of France, but still returned to Vernonnet frequently. Bonnard's paintings are characterised by a great richness of colour and sense of warmth. As well as landscapes and domestic, interior scenes, Bonnard frequently painted his wife, naked in her bath or bedroom.  He also made prints, several of which are in Te Papa's collection.

This charming etching of a woman with a bird, probably the dove of peace, perched on her right hand, is one of 17 (with a further 178 wood-engravings and 29 lithographs) depicting scenes in La Vie de Sainte Monique, the life of St Monica, who was patron saint of difficult marriages and the mother of St Augustine. 390 copies of the book were published in 1930 by Ambroise Vollard.

See: https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/artists/pierre-bonnard

Dr Mark Stocker   Curator Historical International Art    March 2018