Artwork
The Terrace at Vernonnet
The Terrace at Vernonnet is an oil painting by the Les Nabis artist Pierre Bonnard. It dates from 1939 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Bonnard bought the modest home, which he called Ma Roulotte, in 1912 and painted its surroundings for nearly three decades until he sold the property in 1938.
Three women linger in the shade of a massive tree trunk on the irregular terrace of Pierre Bonnard’s house at Vernonnet, near Giverny. Painted in 1939, the canvas treats the elevated terrace as a stage and the wild garden below as a backdrop. A banister alone hints at the steps descending to the overgrown grounds.
Bonnard bought the modest home, which he called Ma Roulotte, in 1912 and painted its surroundings for nearly three decades until he sold the property in 1938.
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts a woman seated on a terrace in the garden of Vernonnet, surrounded by a table bearing a basket, fruit, and a wine bottle, with a bench, tree, trunk, and guard rail completing the scene. Bonnard's composition emphasizes the intimate domesticity and leisurely rhythm of life at his country home, capturing a moment of quiet repose. The inclusion of everyday objects, the wine, fruit, and basket, suggests a simple, sensual appreciation of nature and the pleasures of the table.
The terrace itself, with its handrail and garden setting, functions as a transitional space between the interior and the natural world, a recurring motif in Bonnard's work that symbolizes the harmony between human habitation and the surrounding landscape.
Technique & Style
Pierre Bonnard's 1939 painting The Terrace at Vernonnet is executed in oil paint on canvas. Its dimensions are 147 × 192 cm. The composition features a woman, a basket, a table, a bench, trees, a trunk, a wine bottle, a guard rail, a terrace, a garden, a handrail, and fruit, all arranged within a garden setting. The medium and support are typical of the artist's oeuvre; no specific handling or condition data are recorded in the provided sources.
Overview
Pierre Bonnard's "The Terrace at Vernonnet," an oil painting from 1939, captures a shaded section of the elevated terrace at his country home. This large canvas, completed the year he sold the property, features three women partially obscured by a tree trunk, with a banister hinting at the garden below. The work exemplifies Bonnard's enduring focus on domestic scenes and natural light in his later career.
History & Provenance
Bonnard acquired his modest country residence at Vernonnet in 1912, affectionately calling it "Ma Roulotte" (My Caravan). For nearly three decades, the house's terrace and garden served as recurrent inspirations for his art, culminating in this painting just before its sale in 1939. The Metropolitan Museum of Art received the oil painting in 1968 as a donation from Florence J. Gould.
Artist & collection
Artist
Pierre Bonnard was a French painter, illustrator and printmaker, known especially for the stylized decorative qualities of his paintings and his bold use of color.
