Summaries

The first chapter was all about the artist Bonnard and the mark he made in art history. The chapter starts out discussing Picasso’s parroting views after Bonnard’s death. Picasso questioned his ability as an artist to seize the power from nature. The rest of the chapter goes into Bonnard’s life experiences, specifically his intimate relationships. Much of his later work reflects his relationship with his wife, Marthe. Bonnard always compared her to a bird in her liking for water, her startled look, and her weightlessness/fragility from her poor health. Bonnard had two known affairs with models during their relationship. He greatly considered leaving Marthe for one woman, but couldn’t bring himself to do it and eventually came back to her. The woman tragically killed herself and Bonnard painted an old unfinished painting of her through his memory. Marthe had him destroy all of his paintings of her except this last one (Young Women in the Garden). He began to describe himself daydreaming while painting and forever portraying his aged wife in her prime. Marthe and him always lived modestly for the income he had coming in. Eventually Marthe passed away in 1942, and his works began to incorporate happiness with decay. He even painted her many years after she died in the tub. I think this chapter successfully goes into the depth of his work and how he could represent a figure that is only half there, a ghost of the present. In Bonnard’s work things don’t happen, they are implied.

In the ninth chapter, The Art of the Pilgrimage is stressing the importance of seeing art in its original intended live state. There is an immense different in seeing a photograph of a piece than if you were to see the depth, texture, space, and organization. The author goes into much description about the many examples of historical and contemporary live experiences from these works. From the experience through the space and scale of the work to the reactions and emotions that are ignited by your other senses. I definitely agree that there should be a bigger push for the movement to visit more work in their original contexts than online images.