Pierre Bonnard
Basket of Fruit
1924
Scroll
Pierre Bonnard
Basket of Fruit
1924
Physical Qualities
Oil on canvas, 17 1/4 x 17 3/4 in. (43.8 x 45.1 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Anthony W. Deering, Baltimore
Object Number
2005.141
This striped wicker basket decorated with green raffia appears in several of the artist’s still lifes from the later period of his career. It can also be seen in Woman with Basket of Fruit, on view nearby. Here the basket has taken center stage, with the wide arc of its handle squarely in the middle of the composition. Bonnard once said to a friend, “to begin a picture, there must be an empty space in the center,” and this work can be seen as the perfect example of this compositional technique. The empty space forces the viewer to focus more attention on the various textures of the furniture and the textiles seen through the basket handle, all painted with great luminosity and delicacy.
(Bonnard and Vuillard, 2008)
The Baltimore Museum of Art by partial and promised gift, 2005, completed, 2012; Mr. and Mrs. Anthony W. Deering, Baltimore, by purchase, 2004; Christie's, New York, 2004; private collection, New York; Thomas Gibson Fine Art Ltd., London; Paul Rosenberg and Co., New York; The Lefevre Gallery (Alex Reid & Lefevre Ltd.), London, 1965; H. G. P. Bromford, London; Sam Salz, Inc., New York; Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris, 1937; Delaroche, Paris; Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris, 1924
New York, Wildenstein and Co., Inc., "Bonnard", 1934, no. 23 (illustrated).
Hamberg, Kunstverein, "Bonnard", 1970, no. 51 (illustrated).
Baltimore Museum of Art, "Bonnard & Vuillard", April 23-August 10, 2008
Rena Hoisington, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "New Arrivals: Gifts of Art for a New Century", February 7-May 8, 2016.
Hamberg, Kunstverein, "Bonnard", 1970, no. 51 (illustrated).
Baltimore Museum of Art, "Bonnard & Vuillard", April 23-August 10, 2008
Rena Hoisington, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "New Arrivals: Gifts of Art for a New Century", February 7-May 8, 2016.
"Bulletin de la vie artistique," 1 April 1925 , p. 160, ill.
J. and H. Dauberville, "Bonnard, catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint," Paris: Bernheim Jeune, 1973, vol. III, p. 210, no. 1251, ill.
"Impressionist and Modern Art," Christie's, New York, sale no. 1370, May 4, 2004, lot no. 9, ill.
"BMA Today," Summer 2006, p.9, ill.
Jay Hancock, 'Fractional art donations prove charity starts at home,' "The Baltimore Sun," Sunday, 2/4/2007, 6C, ill.
"BMA Today," Spring 2008, ill. p. 10.
Inscribed: Signed, 'Bonnard' (Lower left)
