Before Dinner

Pierre Bonnard

1924 · Oil on canvas · Robert Lehman Collection

Pierre Bonnard often painted the familiar interiors of his residence, whether in Paris, Vernon, or Le Cannet. Here the artist presents a shimmering still life of a\dinnertime table setting in Vernon, his house near Monet’s Giverny in Normandy. His protagonists have little dialogue, clearly lost in their own thoughts. Only the family dachshund anticipates the meal and its conviviality. The interior’s absence of perspective, flattening of forms, and decorative surface patterns in warm hues are central to Bonnard’s aesthetic.

Artist

Pierre Bonnard

Date

1924

Medium

Oil on canvas

Department

Robert Lehman Collection

Credit line

Robert Lehman Collection, 1975