Pierre Bonnard - original signed drawing - Renouard studio stamp

This is an original signed drawing by Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947), a famous French artist who should need no introduction. The picture is guaranteed to be authentic and carries the studio stamp of the famous French painter Paul Renouard (1845-1924). The stamp is in blue ink. It is certain that Bonnard was spending time in the Renouard's studio, learning from the older man, and the portrait is almost certainly of Renouard. The small drawing is really beautiful and will look wonderful properly framed. It is in excellent condition for its age, with no tears or creases, and is drawn using black chalk on beige paper, which is pasted on a cardboard backing.

It is difficult to put a value to an original drawing by a famous artist. There is in truth no precise value; it all depends on auction competition. It is one of our favourite pieces and a reluctant sale, so we have put a price on it that we are prepared to sell for. It may well achieve a higher price at a specialist auction but that cannot be guaranteed. It will certainly provide a very strong financial investment as original works by famous artists of the past will only continue to increase in value. It is interesting to note that the prices for art at auction have risen significantly during a time of global recession.

Provenance
Private collection of Stephen Baring. Collection includes two inherited collections and twenty five years of personal collecting. The collection numbers well over 1,000 works of art and a number will be sold over the coming weeks to fund a project.

"The piece comes from my grandfathers collection and comes complete with a statement of authenticity." Stephen Baring.

Biography
Bonnard was born in Fontenay-aux-Roses, Hauts-de-Seine. He led a happy and carefree youth as the son of a prominent official of the French Ministry of War. At the insistence of his father, Bonnard studied law, graduating and practising as a barrister briefly. However, he had also attended art classes on the side, and soon decided to become an artist.

In 1891 he met Toulouse-Lautrec and began showing his work at the annual exhibition of the Société des Artistes Indépendants. His first show was at the Galerie Durand-Ruel in 1896.

In his twenties he was a part of Les Nabis, a group of young artists committed to creating work of symbolic and spiritual nature. Other Nabis include Édouard Vuillard and Maurice Denis. He left Paris in 1910 for the south of France.

Bonnard is known for his intense use of colour, especially via areas built with small brushmarks and close values. His often complex compositions -typically of sunlit interiors of rooms and gardens populated with friends and family members are both narrative and autobiographical. His wife Marthe was an ever-present subject over the course of several decades. She is seen seated at the kitchen table, with the remnants of a meal; or nude, as in a series of paintings where she reclines in the bathtub. He also painted several self-portraits, landscapes, street scenes, and many still lifes which usually depict flowers and fruit.

Bonnard did not paint from life but rather drew his subject - sometimes photographing it as well - and made notes on the colors. He then painted the canvas in his studio from his notes.

In 1938 there was a major exhibition of his work along with Vuillard's at the Art Institute of Chicago. He finished his last painting, The Almond Tree in Blossom, a week before his death in his cottage on La Route de Serra Capeou near Le Cannet, on the French Riviera, in 1947. The Museum of Modern Art in New York City organized a posthumous retrospective of Bonnard's work in 1948, although originally it was meant to be a celebration of the artist's eightieth birthday.

A genuine original drawing by a famous listed artist that will be much admired in your home or office. Will provide an excellent financial investment as well as a possession to enjoy. You are welcome to return for a full refund if you are not entirely happy. Also, please feel free to view at our central London showroom.