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

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints and 365 Days, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

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04 Painting, Streets of Paris, by the artists of the time, Part 18 - With Footnotes

JEAN DUFY, (french 1888-1964) 
PARIS - PLACE CLICHY
Oil on canvas 
15 1/4 x 18 1/2 in. (38.7 x 47cm)

Private collection

"Paris - Place Clichy" depicts the major intersection that joins the eighth, ninth, seventeenth, and eighteenth arrondissements in northwest Paris. At the center of the bustling place stands a statue of the sculptor and artist Amédée Doublemard, surrounded by a blur of horse drawn carriages and small vehicles. The angular rooftops of the grands bâtiments appear almost as ship masts, slicing across the rich blue sky. The newly constructed Basilique du Sacré-Coeur, completed in 1914, stands sentry in the distance, presiding over the neighborhood from the highest point in the city. Jean Dufy's quick, strong brushstrokes and confident use of color are a hallmark of his modernist style. More on this painting

Jean Dufy (b Le Havre, France, 1888; d La Boissière, 1964) French Painter. Following his service in the military, from 1910-1912, Jean Dufy relocated to Paris. Inspired by the work of Braque and Picasso, Dufy created watercolors that expressed a heightened understanding of color and light. In the mid-1920s, Jean Dufy became captivated by the music of the time, such as Darius Millaud and Francis Poulenc, and incorporated this interest into his artwork. While depicting orchestral and musical subjects, Dufy later became enchanted by the coast of Northern France and began to create majestic and effecting landscapes. Throughout the 1950s Dufy explored Western Europe and North America, but inevitably returned to his watercolors and oils of Paris. Just two months after the death of his wife, Ismérie, Jean Dufy died in 1964 in La Boissiere. More Jean Dufy

JEAN DUFY, (french 1888-1964) 

AUX COURSES

Oil on canvas 

13 x 18 1/4 in. (33.02 x 46.4cm) 

Private collection

A favorite subject of the artist, "Aux Courses" captures the intensity of a horse race, likely at the famous Longchamp Racecourse located in the Bois de Boulogne to the west of Paris. Dufy's characteristic long, sharp lines are repeated in the sweeping trees and concourse of the covered stadium seating, as well as in the slanting figures of the horses and jockeys. The overall effect creates a sense of dramatic urgency in the scene, a dynamism that transports the viewer to the sidelines of the race. Dufy returned to this theme frequently over his career, fascinated by both the animal and the sport. More on this painting

JEAN DUFY, (french 1888-1964), see above

ÉDOUARD LÉON CORTÈS, (french 1882-1969) 

RUE DE LA PAIX

Oil on canvas 

13 x 18 in. (33x 45.7cm)

Private collection

The rue de la Paix is a fashionable shopping street in the center of Paris. Located in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, running north from Place Vendôme and ending at the Opéra Garnier, it is best known for its jewellers, such as the shop opened by Cartier in 1898. Charles Frederick Worth was the first to open a couture house in the rue de la Paix. Many buildings on the street are inspired in design by the hôtels particuliers of Place Vendôme.

The street was opened in 1806 from Place Vendôme on the orders of Napoleon I, part of the Napoleonic program to open the heart of the Right Bank of Paris, both towards the undeveloped western suburbs and to the north. Creating the new street required the demolition of the ancient Convent of the Capucins. At first named rue Napoléon, its name was changed in 1814, after the Bourbon Restoration, to celebrate the newly arranged peace. More on rue de la Paix

Edouard Léon Cortès (1882–1969) was a French post-impressionist artist of French and Spanish ancestry. He is known as "Le Poete Parisien de la Peinture" or "the Parisian Poet of Painting" because of his diverse Paris cityscapes in a variety of weather and night settings. Cortes was born in Lagny-sur-Marne, about twenty miles east of Paris. His father, Antonio Cortès, had been a painter for the Spanish Royal Court.

Although Cortès was a pacifist, when war came close to his native village he was compelled to enlist in a French Infantry Regiment at the age of 32. As a contact agent Cortès was wounded by a bayonet, evacuated to a military hospital, and awarded the Croix de Guerre. After recovery he was the reassigned to utilize his artistic talent to sketch enemy positions. Later in life his convictions led him to refuse the Légion d'Honneur from the French Government. In 1919 he was demobilized.

Cortès lived a simple life amid a close circle of friends. He died on November 28, 1969, in Lagny, and has a street named in his honor. More on Edouard Léon Cortès

 ELISÉE MACLET, (1881 - 1962)

Rue Saint-Vincent, Montmartre, c. 1924

 Oil on canvas
21 1/2 by 18 in. (54.6 by 45.7 cm)

Private collection

Montmartre is a large hill in Paris's 18th arrondissement. It gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Right Bank in the northern section of the city. Montmartre is primarily known for its artistic history, the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré-Cœur on its summit, and as a nightclub district. The other, older, church on the hill is Saint Pierre de Montmartre, which claims to be the location at which the Jesuit order of priests was founded.

Near the end of the 19th century and at the beginning of the twentieth, during the Belle Époque, many artists had studios or worked in or around Montmartre, including Amedeo Modigliani, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Suzanne Valadon, Piet Mondrian, Pablo Picasso, Camille Pissarro, and Vincent van Gogh. Montmartre is also the setting for several hit films.

Rue Saint-Vincent is at the crossroads with Rue des Saules; one of the most charming in Montmartre and worthy of the countryside, with its steps, steep slope running alongside the cemetery, and area of greenery towards Sacré-Coeur. Hidden behind an acacia tree, the Cabaret du Lapin Agile was popular during the Belle Époque with artists such as Carco, Dorgelès, Mac Orlan, Picasso and Vlaminck. More on Rue Saint-Vincent

Jules-Émile Élisée Maclet is famous for his Paris street scenes, much in the tradition that Utrillo would soon follow. Indeed, born in Lihons-en-Santerre, Picardie (April 12, 1881), the artist began his career while still a choirboy. He moved to Montmartre in 1906, after his mother's death, where he began painting the Montmartre landscape, anticipating the themes that Utrillo would eventually depict, as well as other colorful scenes of the city (and elsewhere in France and Italy). He would have had more works extant today, but he was institutionalized much of the last 30 years of his life. More on Jules-Émile Élisée Maclet

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2 Works - European Art, PIERRE BONNARD, HENRI DE TOULOUSE-LAUTREC

HENRI DE TOULOUSE-LAUTREC (French, 1864-1901)
Couverture de L'Estampe originale (Album de clôture), 1895
Crayon, brush and spatter lithograph
23 x 32-7/8 inches (58.4 x 83.5 cm)
Trial proof aside from ed. 100
Printed by Edward Ancourt, Paris
Published by L'Estampe originale (André Marty), Paris, as the cover for the ninth and last album in March 1895

Private collection

Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901), also known as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman and illustrator whose immersion in the colourful and theatrical life of Paris in the late 19th century allowed him to produce a collection of enticing, elegant and provocative images of the modern, sometimes decadent, life of those times. Toulouse-Lautrec is among the best-known painters of the Post-Impressionist period, alongside Cézanne, Van Gogh and Gauguin. In a 2005 auction at Christie's auction house, La Blanchisseuse, his early painting of a young laundress, sold for US$22.4 million and set a new record for the artist for a price at auction. More on Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

PIERRE BONNARD (French, 1867-1947)
Place Clichy , 1922
Lithograph in colors
18-1/2 x 25 inches (47.0 x 63.5 cm) (sight)
From the edition of 100
Signed center left: Bonnard
Signed, dated, and inscribed along lower margin: 22/ Bonnard Paris S...
Published by Bernheim-Jeune, Paris

Private collection

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

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints and 365 Days, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others. Some Images may be subject to copyright

I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell me.

I do not sell art, art prints, framed posters or reproductions. Ads are shown only to compensate the hosting expenses.

If you enjoyed this post, please share with friends and family.

Thank you for visiting my blog and also for liking its posts and pages.

Please note that the content of this post primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online.