An exhibit featuring the work of French painter Pierre Bonnard will make one stop in the U.S. this summer: at the Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum.
Pierre Bonnard: Landscapes from Le Cannet will be on display from May 27 to Aug. 12. The exhibit will consist of twenty-four works – 17 drawings, 6 paintings and a lithograph that will be loaned from the collection of the Musée Bonnard in Le Cannet, France.
Le Cannet is Lafayette’s sister city. It was also the home of Bonnard, one of several painters who founded Les Nabis, an avant-garde group of post-impressionism artists.
After making many yearly visits to Le Cannet, Bonnard acquired a villa in the town in southeastern France in 1926 that he called Le Bosquet, or the grove. It became his primary residence and studio during the final years of his life. The surrounding countryside inspired most of the work that will be featured during the University Art Museum exhibit.
“This exhibition will demonstrate the artist's process from sketches to painting, as well as his intense relationship to nature through his images of the landscape of Le Cannet,” said LouAnne Greenwald, Hilliard University Art Museum director.
Bonnard’s technique involved sketching his initial impressions on paper. He translated those drawings in his studio into paintings that are noted for the artist’s exploration of color and light.
Museum hours are: Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Wednesdays, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Saturdays: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The museum is closed Sundays and Mondays.
Hilliard University Art Museum features 11,000 square feet of gallery space and is the largest exhibition space between Houston and New Orleans. It houses a collection of 18th- through 21st-century European, Asian and American art. In addition to its permanent collection, it offers changing exhibitions of regional, national and international art.
The museum is at 710 E. St. Mary Blvd., on the University of Louisiana at Lafayette campus.
Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for adults over age 62, $3 for students between the ages of 5 and 17, and free for children younger than 5 years old. UL Lafayette students, and faculty and staff members can visit the museum for free by showing their University ID card.
Learn more about Pierre Bonnard: Landscapes from Le Cannet at the exhibit webpage
To obtain media kits with high-resolution images and more information about Bonnard, contact Johnson at (337) 482-6060. To learn more about the museum, exhibits, and programs, visit hilliardmuseum.org or call (337) 482-2278.
Image: Pierre Bonnard. Cannet Landscape during the Mistral Winds, 1922. Oil on canvas. 19" x 24". Photo courtesy Le Musée Bonnard, Le Cannet Côte d'Azur.