The Open Window 1921

Pierre Bonnard's, The Open Window, is a mid-sized painting filled with hazy light and gentle strokes. Just imagine Bonnard there with his brushes, probably making a mess as he steps back and forth, considering and reconsidering what to include, what to leave out. The colours are muted, earthy, and warm. The brushstrokes are so delicate that they feel like whispers of colour. He’s not interested in the hard edge, it's all about softness. The window isn't just a window; it’s a portal into another world, or maybe another painting. I wonder if he was looking at Vuillard, using this intimate view of an interior as a stage set to make something poetic. The overall effect is one of calm, contemplation, and I bet it reflects a particular mood in his mind. Painting is like that; a conversation with yourself, with art history, and with the world around you. It’s a visual language, where each stroke, each colour choice, is a word in a sentence. Bonnard is telling us a story, and it's up to us to listen.