Pierre Bonnard
French, 1867-1947

Earthly Paradise, 1916-20

Oil on canvas
51 1/2 x 63 in. (130 x 160 cm)
Signed, l.l.: "Bonnard"
Estate of Joanne Toor Cummings; Bette and Neison Harris and Searle Family Trust endowments; through prior gifts of Mrs. Henry C. Woods, 1996.47

Exhibition, Publication and Ownership Histories

Exhibition History

Paris, Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Exposition Bonnard, May 24–June 11, 1921, n.p., cat. 4, as Paradis.

Paris, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Cinquante ans de peinture française, March 28–July 2, 1925.

Paris, Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Exposition retrospective: Bonnard, May–July 1950, p. 22, cat. 25, as Le Paradis Terrestre, 1917.

Nice, Musée des Ponchettes, Bonnard, August–September 1955, n.p. (ill.), cat. 23, p. 29, as Paradis terrestre, 1916-20.

Paris, Galeries Bernheim-Jeune, Coup de chapeau à Bonnard, March 3–April 8, 1967, no. 72.

Munich, Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung, Bonnard, summer 1994, n.p., cat. 72, as Das irdische Paradies/Le paradis terrestre, 1916-1920.

London, Tate Gallery, Bonnard, February 12–May 17, 1998, pp. 17, 22, 28, 124, cat. 36, 125 (ill.), as The Earthly Paradise/Le Paradis terrestre, 1916-20; traveled to New York, Museum of Modern Art, June 17–October 13, 1998.

Chicago, Art Institute, Beyond the Easel: Decorative Painting by Bonnard, Vuillard, Denis, and Roussel, 1890-1930, February 25–May 16, 2001, pp. 186, cat. 52, 187 (ill.), 188-190, as Earthly Paradise, 1916-20; traveled to New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, June 26–September 9, 2001.

Washington, D.C., The Phillips Collection, Pierre Bonnard: early and late, September 22, 2002–January 19, 2003, pp. 37, 39 (ill.), fig. 28, 169 (ill.), pl. 80, 170 (detail), as Earthly Paradise, 1916-20; traveled to Denver Art Museum, March 1–May 25, 2003.

Publication History

Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Exposition Bonnard, exh. cat. (Paris: Bernheim-Jeune, 1921), n.p., cat. 4, as Paradis.

Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Cinquante ans de peinture francaise, exh. cat. (Paris: XXX, 1925), XXX.

Coquiot, Gustave, Bonnard (Paris: Les Éditions Bernheim-Jeune, 1922), n.p. (ill.), as Le Paradis, 1916-1920. [no collection listed]

Terrasse, Charles, Bonnard (Paris: Floury, 1927), pp. 141, 146, opp. 148 (ill.), 150, opp. 150 (detail), as le Paradis, 1916-19.

Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Exposition retrospective: Bonnard, exh. cat. (Paris: J. & H. Bernheim-Jeune, 1950), n.p., cat. 25, as Le Paradis Terrestre, 1917.

Passel, Howard, “The Paintings of Pierre Bonnard” M.A. thesis, New York University, 1950, pp. 72, 130, cat. B28, as Le paradis, 1918-20.

Natanson, Thadée, Le Bonnard que je propose, 1867-1947; tentatives (Geneva: Pierre Cailler, 1951), n.p., pl. 44, p. 140, as Le Paradis terrestre, 1915.

Besson, George, Bonnard, 1867-1947 (Paris: Les Êditions Braun & Cie, 1955), n.p., pl. 28 (ill.), as Le Paradis, 1918-20. [photo Bernheim-Jeune]

Francastel, Pierre, Du classicisme au cubisme. Vol. 2 of Histoire de la peinture francaise, la peinture de chevalet du XIVe au Xxe siècle (Paris: Elsevier, 1955), p. 180, as Paradis, 1920. [no collection]

Musée des Ponchettes, Bonnard, exh. cat. (Nice: Presses de Pierotti, 1955), n.p. (ill.), cat. 23, p. 29, as Paradis Terrestre, 1916-20. [no collection]

Raynal, Maurice, Peinture Moderne (Geneva: Skira, 1960).

Dauberville, Jean and Henry, Bonnard, catalog raisonne de l’oeuvre peint, 1906-1919, vol. 2 (Paris: Éditions J. et. H. Bernheim-Jeune, 1965), pp. opp 383 (ill), 383 (ill.), no. 867a, photo 3771, as Le Paradis terrestre, 1916-1920.

Galeries Bernheim-Jeune, Coup de chapeau a Bonnard, exh. cat. (Paris: XXX, 1967).

Réunion des Musées nationaux, Pierre Bonnard, Centenaire de sa naissance, exh. cat. (Paris: Réunion des Musées nationaux, 1967), n.p., as Paradis, 1916-20. [no collection]

Terrasse, Antoine, Bonnard (Paris: Éditions Gallimard, 1967), pp. 104 (ill.), 107, as Le paradis, 1916-1920.

Newman, Sasha M. (ed.), Bonnard: The Late Paintings, exh. cat. (Washington, D.C.: The Phillips Collection, 1984), p. 130 (ill.), as Le Paradis terrestre, 1916-1920. [no collection]

Cogeval, Guy, Bonnard (Paris: Hazan, 1993), pp. 98, no. 28, opp. 98 (ill.), as Le Paradis terrestre, 1916-1920.

Bell, Julian, Bonnard (London: Phaidon Press, 1994), pp. 76, opp. 76 (ill.), pl. 23, as The Earthly Paradise.

Hagen, Monika von, Bonnard, exh. cat. (Munich: Hirmer, 1994), n.p., cat. 72, as Das irdische Paradies/Le paradis terrestre, 1916-1920.

Lévêque, Alain, Bonnard, la main légère (Paris: Deyrolle, 1994), p. 48, as Paradis terrestre, 1916-1920.

Watkins, Nicholas, Bonnard (London: Phaidon Press, 1994), pp. 128, 130, 131 (ill.), pl. 101, 151, 164, as Le Paradis terrestre, 1916-20. [private collection]

Artner, Alan G., “Museum acquires ‘Earthly Paradise’,” Chicago Tribune, March 28, 1996, as Earthly Paradise, 1916-20.

Frey, Mary Cameron, “Double Delight at Art Institute,” Chicago Sun-Times, April 3, 1996, p. 54 (ill.), as Earthly Paradise, 1917.

Kurita, Hidenori et al., Pierre Bonnard, exh. cat. (Tokyo: Aichi Prefecture Museum of Art, 1997), p. 76 (ill.), as Earthly Paradise, 1916-1920.

James, Merlin, “Review: Bonnard. London and New York,” The Burlington Magazine 140, 1141 (April 1998), p. 278, as Le Paradis terrestre, 1916-20.

Kozloff, Max, “A Vertigo of the Senses,” Art in America 86, 7 (July 1998), p. 55 (ill.), as The Earthly Paradise, 1916-20.

Hyman, Timothy, Bonnard (London: Thames and Hudson, 1998), p. 105, as Le Paradis terrestre (The Earthly Paradise).

Elderfield, John, “Bonnard’s Disguises” (1998), pp. 3-7, 10-15, sl. L2, L4, L11-L13, R2-R6, R10, as Le Paradis terrestre (The Earthly Paradise), 1916-20.

Watkins, Nicholas, Bonnard: Colour and Light (London: Tate Gallery Publishing, 1998), p. 33 (ill.), fig. 17, as The Earthly Paradise, 1916-20.

Whitfield, Sarah and John Elderfield, Bonnard, exh. cat. (London: Tate Gallery Publishing, 1998), pp. 17, 22, 28, 124, cat. 36, 125 (ill.), as The Earthly Paradise/Le Paradis terrestre, 1916-1920.

Prat, Jean-Louis, Bonnard, exh. cat. (Martigny: Fondation Pierre Gianadda, 1999), n.p., as Le Paradis terrestre.

Groom, Gloria, Beyond the Easel: Decorative Painting by Bonnard, Vuillard, Denis, and Roussel, 1890-1930, exh. cat. (Chicago and New Haven: Art Institute and Yale University Press, 2001), pp. 186, cat. 52, 187 (ill.), 188-190, as Earthly Paradise, 1916-20.

Zutter, Jörg, “Pierre Bonnard: Early and late,” in Apollo 158, 500 (New Series), (November 2003), p. 48-49, as Earthly Paradise, 1916-20.

D’Alessandro, Stephanie, “Earthly Paradise,” in Museum Studies, Notable Acquistions at The Art Institute of Chicago 29, 2 (2002), p. 72 (ill.), 73 (detail), as Earthly Paradise, 1916-20.

Turner, Elizabeth Hutton, Pierre Bonnard: Early and Late, exh. cat. (Washington, D.C.: Phillip Wilson Publishers, 2003), pp. 37, 39 (ill.), fig. 28, 169 (ill.), pl. 80, 170 (detail), as Earthly Paradise, 1916-20.

La Chapelle, Philippe de, Paradis retrouvés: un itinéraire artistique (Paris: Éditions Cercle d’Art, 2005), pp. 156, 159, 162, 163, cover ill., as Paradis terrestre.

Ownership History

Commissioned by Gaston (1870-1953) and Josse (1870-1941) Bernheim-Jeune, Paris [Dauberville 1965]; Gaston Bernheim de Villers (formerly Bernheim-Jeune), Villers [Dauberville 1965]; by descent to his wife, Madame Bernheim de Villers (1883-1961), Villers [Nice 1955]; by descent to their grandson, Philippe Boby de la Chapelle, Villefranche-sur-Mer [letter from Philippe Boby de la Chapelle to James N. Wood, March 21, 1996, copy in curatorial file]; consigned to Galerie Cazeau-Beraudiere, Paris [letter cited above]; sold to the Art Institute, 1996.