Le Bain 1923

Pierre Bonnard made this lithograph, Le Bain, on paper, and it's like he’s feeling his way through the image, using marks to conjure the scene. There’s a real intimacy here, a quiet observation of a person in a private moment. The magic of this piece lies in its simplicity. Look at the density of the shading around the window, and how it contrasts with the lighter, sketchier marks defining the figure in the tub. Bonnard isn’t trying to hide his process. You can almost see him thinking, adjusting, and refining with each stroke of the lithographic crayon. The texture is palpable, the grain of the stone almost visible beneath the image. This reminds me of Vuillard, another artist interested in the quiet moments of everyday life. What Bonnard leaves unsaid, the space he creates for our imagination, is what makes this print so compelling. It’s an invitation to participate in the act of seeing.