08 Paintings, Streets of Paris, Pierre Bonnard's Place Clichy, with footnotes, Part #83

Pierre Bonnard, (1867, France - 1947, France)

La Place Clichy, c. 1912

Oil on canvas

138 x 203 cm

Musée des Beaux-Arts et d'archéologie de Besançon, Besançon, France

PIERRE BONNARD FRENCH, 1867-1947

LA PLACE CLICHY, C. 1900

Oil on board laid down on cradled panel

20 3/4 x 26 3/8 in, 52.7 x 67 cm

Private collection

Bonnard’s La Place Clichy depicts a busy Parisian square near Montmartre in the 18th arrondissement, which was a popular artists’ quarter in the early twentieth century. Bonnard and his fellow artist Édouard Vuillard, who lived nearby, took joy in observing and painting the crowded streets around Place Clichy and the bohemian lifestyle of its inhabitants. The present composition is dominated by the elegantly dressed ladies in the foreground, talking as they stroll down the street. The image here presents a radically modern approach, shifting the focus away from the center of the composition, towards two figural groups in the foreground. The positioning of the figures, as if leaving the scope of the picture, suggest a chance momentary glimpse, rather than a carefully staged ensemble. It is this nonchalance of composition that makes this one of Bonnard’s more accomplished street scenes.

In the autumn of 1899 the artist rented a studio and apartment at 65 rue de Douai, near Place Clichy and Place Pigalle, with a view towards Montmartre. Charles Terrasse later recalled Bonnard’s studio: "There were canvases. Easels all around, and in an angle a small table where one would have lunch. The balcony was a place that was particularly attractive. From there one could see so many things. A whole world. The street below was bustling… agitated like a sea" (C. Terrasse quoted in Pierre Bonnard: Early and Late, Washington, D.C., 2003, p. 33). More on this painting

Pierre Bonnard, French, 1867–1947

Place Clichy, c. 1922

Lithograph in colors

18 1/2 × 25 in, 47 × 63.5 cm

The Clark Art Institute

Pierre Bonnard

Place Clichy or the two elegant, c. 1905

Oil on cardboard mounted on panel

28 3/4 x 23 5/8 in. (73 x 60 cm.)

Private collection

In Pierre Bonnard's Place Clichy, or the two elegant, the viewer is plunged into the throng of the Parisian nightlife. There is a sense of physical proximity with the women shown in the foreground, who dominate the composition, while the background dissolves into both the distance and a relative blur. Despite the nocturnal atmosphere of this painting, it is dominated by the bright colors of the central woman’s coat, which itself appears to have captured some of the artificial light of the street, allowing Bonnard to showcase his celebrated ability to examine and capture the greatest subtleties of hue, even in a work that conveys a sense of movement. Considering the balance between observation and the rapid motion of daily life in Paris, it is telling that Bonnard would refer to “the work of art” as “a stopping of time” More on this painting

Pierre Bonnard (French, 1867–1947)

Place Clichy , c. 1906–1907

Oil on canvas

102 x 116.5 cm. (40.2 x 45.9 in.)

Private collection

Pierre Bonnard  (1867–1947)

LA PLACE CLICHY, c. 1898

Oil on board

Private collection

Pierre Bonnard's Place Clichy,

The Place Clichy, Paris

Oil on cardboard (triptych) 

13-3/4 x 38-3/4 in. (34.9 x 98.4 cm) 

The Norton Simon Foundation

At the turn of the twentieth century, the Place Clichy marked the heart of Parisian bohemia. Located in the north of the city, at the foot of Montmartre, the square was a hub for nightlife and progressive art, surrounded by cafés and studios—including Bonnard’s own, just around the corner in the rue de Douai. In the three compositions that form this triptych, he portrayed the square in spring or summer, bustling with pedestrians, delivery carts, and an omnibus, at left. This work belongs to a series of seven triptychs representing the same neighborhood at various times of day, which Bonnard painted for his friend and dealer Jos Hessel. 

Pierre Bonnard delighted in depicting urban life and leisure in fin-de-siècle Paris. This charming view of the Place Clichy, one of three triptychs, or three-paneled works, was painted in 1900.

The panels are dominated by muted greens, enlivened by touches of red. The vantage point, slightly above street level, gives us a clear view of the bustling scene. Silhouetted against the pavement, the figures appear as flat patches of color. Notice, for example, the fashionable lady crossing the street in the center panel or the girl on the right in her pink dress, with red cheeks and shoes. The decorative tones and use of the triptych format reflect Bonnard’s interest in Japanese art.

Bonnard often painted around the Place Clichy, an area near Montmartre, just north of his studio. The neighborhood had been popular with artists for half a century. It was at the heart of Paris’s entertainment district, famous for its cafés and nightclubs, including the legendary Moulin Rouge. Degas, Toulouse Lautrec and Renoir had already painted this part of the city, but by the early 1890s, Bonnard was rapidly supplanting them in their role as visual interpreters of Paris. More on Place Clichy

Pierre Bonnard

Chevaux et filles au bois also known as La Place Clichy, c. c. 1894-95

Oil on canvas

Musée Bonnard

Pierre Bonnard (3 October 1867 — 23 January 1947) was a French painter and printmaker, as well as a founding member of the Post-Impressionist group of avant-garde painters Les Nabis. Bonnard preferred to work from memory, using drawings as a reference, and his paintings are often characterized by a dreamlike quality. The intimate domestic scenes, for which he is perhaps best known, often include his wife Marthe de Meligny.

Bonnard has been described as "the most thoroughly idiosyncratic of all the great twentieth- century painters", and the unusual vantage points of his compositions rely less on traditional modes of pictorial structure than voluptuous color, poetic allusions and visual wit. Identified as a late practitioner of Impressionism in the early 20th century, Bonnard has since been recognized for his unique use of color and his complex imagery. More on Pierre Bonnard

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