Color defines Bonnard’s world. His use of drawing is minimal, mainly emphasizing the outlines of simple shapes – an armchair, a figure, or architecture. Subjects are defined as shapes of dappled hues, frozen in the shifting play of light. The paintings are dynamic, animated by brushstrokes and the depiction of patterns in fabric, wallpaper, and reflected light which emphasize the flatness of the picture plane. Or, in the words of another visitor, he got the perspective all wrong.

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