Colours

We always get to the National Gallery of Victoria when we are in Melbourne. This visit was no different. We'd heard of the Bonnard exhibition but it was not all; there was a Rembrandt exhibition, too. Wow. But we just got to the Bonnard. The Rembrandt was mainly from the NGV collections, they told us, so his four NGV paintings plus etchings. Interesting but. The Bonnard had works with owning institutions from out of town, NGA and AGNSW but also National Gallery of Art Washington DC and a string from Musee d'Orsay. So this was the big one. It took us through his friends, studies, artistic changes and long presence of his partner, model and later wife, Marthe de Meligny, AKA Marthe Bonnard. Interesting to see the involvement of photography and movies, of his colours and movement, of his sense of perspective (all tables and dinners and card games viewed from high viewpoints) and his interest in photography. There were also diversions into film with Alfred Jarry Ubu Roi and endless pics of various types of Marthe. It must be somewhat stressful to be always on display for an artist, but at least most was painted over time rather than immediate and photographed. I came to associate with his sense of colour and softness and movement in place of edges and lines and definition and appreciate his domestic and natural world but I'm not sure I fully appreciate his importance. That's for some more study. In the meantime, I continue to prefer other eras.

Pierre Bonnard : Designed by India Mahdavi was at the National Gallery of Victoria.