The Blue Balcony

Copyright

Work in the public domain
Image: Courtauld
by-nc

Maker


1867-1947

Title

The Blue Balcony

Date of Production

1910

Medium

oil on canvas

Dimensions

Height: 52.5 cm (canvas)
Width: 76 cm (canvas)

Object Number

P.1932.SC.33

Mode of Acquisition

Samuel Courtauld, gift, 1932

Credit

Courtauld Gallery, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

Location

Not currently on display
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Keywords

Label Text

This painting shows a view from Pierre Bonnard’s home at Vernonnet in Normandy,
which he called ‘ma roulotte’, or ‘my caravan’. It is an early example of what would become a
favoured theme for Bonnard: the relationship between houses and their natural surroundings. Here, the structuring lines of the building and the straight path contrast with
the somewhat untamed garden. Bonnard encouraged his gardens to grow wild: a
friend observed that he liked to ‘do all kinds of gardening except restricting the growth of
plants and restraining the flowers.’

Inscriptions

Inscription: inscription : signed : bottom left : : Bonnard

Provenance

Bought from the artist by Bernheim-Jeune, Paris, 1910; Hugo Nattan; Bernheim-Jeune 1912; Paul Vallotton, Lausanne; Galerie Druet, Paris, 1928; purchased by Samuel Courtauld before June 1932 perhaps from The independent Gallery, London; Courtauld Gift, 1932.

Exhibition History

Masterpieces of Impressionism from The Courtauld Gallery, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan, 10/09/2019-15/12/2019; Aichi Prefectural Museum, Nagoya, Japan, 03/01/2020-15/03/2020; Kobe City Museum, Kobe, Japan, 28/03/2020-21/06/2020
The Courtauld Collection. A Vision for Impressionism, Louis Vuitton Foundation, Paris, 20/02/2019-17/06/2019
Courtauld Impressionists: From Manet to Cezanne, National Gallery, London, 17/09/2018-20/01/2019
...More
Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse, Cleveland Museum of Art, USA, 11/10/2015-03/01/2016; Royal Academy of Arts, London, 30/01/2016-20/04/2016
Bonnard in Normandy, Musée des Impressionismes, Giverny, France, 01/04/2011-07/07/2011
Impressionist Gardens, Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, 16/11/2010-14/02/2011
Impressionist Gardens, National Gallery of Scotland & Edinburgh & Scotland, 31/07/2010-17/10/2010
Heaven on Earth - The Garden through the Eyes of the Artist from
the Middle Ages to the Present, Lenbachhaus, Munich, Germany, 05/04/2007-08/07/2007
Heaven on Earth - The Garden through the Eyes of the Artist from
the Middle Ages to the Present, Stadel Museum, Frankfurt, 23/11/2006-11/03/2007
Into the 20th century - New Displays at the Courtauld, Courtauld Gallery, London, 10/10/2002
The Courtauld Collection: Masterpieces of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, 14/06/1998-21/09/1998
The Courtauld Collection, Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, 26/12/1997-12/05/1998
...Less

Literature

The Courtauld Collection: Masterpieces of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, Art Gallery of Ontario, 1998

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