Interpretive Resource

In the 1890s, Pierre Bonnard became known for small-scale, densely patterned, Intimist images of domestic interiors. In the twentieth century, however, he reinvented his art, placing new emphasis on bold forms, brilliant colors, and expansive space. While acknowledging a debt to Impressionist investigations of light, Bonnard wanted to go beyond a literal representation of nature, in favor of more expressive hues and fanciful compositions.

At the same time, Bonnard addressed several narrative subjects that he had not previously explored, including the theme of the pastoral landscape seen in Earthly Paradise. Part of a cycle of four decorative panels commissioned by the artist’s dealers Joseph and Gaston Bernheim, this canvas (the other three are in a private collection; Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris; and the Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo) functioned both as part of an ensemble, harmonizing with furniture and other art objects in a room, and as an independent work.

Here, the artist carefully framed the lush, somewhat unruly garden with tree trunks and foliage; balanced its warm yellows and browns with cool blues, greens, and violets; and included alongside the expected bird of paradise and serpent the less conventional turkey and heron. A more striking, odd note is the contrast Bonnard established between the rigid figure of Adam, who gestures with his right hand, and the langorous form of the recumbent Eve. Perhaps the artist wished to comment upon the conflicts that divide the genders. Moreover, since he began the painting at the height of World War I, he may have intended to make an oblique reference to political discord through the juxtaposition of light and dark, the strange assortment of animals, and Adam’s tense posture. Thus, Bonnard’s modern depiction of a Garden of Eden is not without its shadows.