Gérard Dupuy, Paris (the artist's godson)
Huguette Berès, Paris
Lefevre Gallery (Alex. Reid), London (acquired by 1962; sale: Sotheby's, London, 15th April 1970, lot 65)
Mrs Marlow, United Kingdom (purchased at the above sale)
R. O. Petersen, USA (sale: Sotheby's, London, 27th June 1977, lot 33)
Janos B. Fenjves, Miami (purchased at the above sale)
Sale: Christie's, New York, 11th May 1995, lot 289
Kunsthandel Borzo, Den Bosch, Netherlands
Acquired from the above by the family of the present൲ owner in August 1995

London, Lefevre Gallery, XIXth and XXth Century French Paintings, 1962, no. 3, illustrated in the catalogue
London, Lefevre Gallery, XIXth and XXth Century French Paintings, 1969, no. 2, illustrated in the catalogue

Jean & Henry Dauberville, Bonnard, Catalogue raisonné de l'œuvre peint 1920-1939, Paris, 1973, vol. III, no. 1044, illustrated p. 69

The canvas is not lined. Apart from a tiny line of retouching to the upper right edge, visible under UV light, and some very light craquleure to the upper half, this work is in very good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Through his involvement with the Nabis at the beginning of the century, Bonnard had grown accustomed to using decorative stylistic elements in his paintings, such as flattened patches of colour and bold contours. In his depictions of the French landscape, his use of technique was extraordinarily effective in conveying the variations of the terrain. In the present work, Paysage, dating from circa 1921, he uses interlacing patches of colour to form the dramatic clouds and lush flower fields in the distance.

The art critic Elie Faure captured the originality of Bonnard's landscapes perfectly when describing his style: 'Like the rarest artists, he gives the impression of having invented painting. This is not merely because everything in the world – everything, every day – is new for him and so he expresses it in a new way, but also because he stands at the dawn of a new intellectual order. He was the first to organise it, following a rhythm of which we had been aware before his arrival: the fine old harmonies that make us what we are' (quoted in Pierre Bonnard, Observing Nature, (exhibition catalogue), National Gallery of Australia, Canberra & Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, 2003, p. 56).

As the artist himself proclaimed: 'Observe nature, and work on the canvas, indicating the colours: the climate of the work transcends all else' (quoted in ibid., p. 37).

'In art, it is only reactions that count. It's not a matter of painting life. It's a matter of giving life to painting.' Pierre Bonnard, 1946