![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF _ 4527](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1689/26093923456_c687fcbc3d_o.jpg)
Last weekend, I visited Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco for an exhilarating special exhibition, Pierre Bonnard: Painting Arcadia.
Bonnard, an often also-run amongst other marquee names in some Impressionism or Post-Impressionism blockbuster shows, richly deserved a place of his own. Viewed together, the body of his works was truly impressive and deeply moving, other than being overshadowed by others here and there of his incidental presences.
A most amazing colorist, Bonnard used his explosive colors to portrait multilayered people, interior and exteriors, and extended into their psychology. His oeuvres were far beyond the narrowly defined Arcadia implied by the title of this exhibition.
It did start with some decorative works, with main focus on patterns of floras and dresses, with muted colors than his later works:
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF - Twilight - The Croquet Game _ 1842](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1479/25517227303_f7507d8837_o.jpg)
Twilight - The Croquet Game
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF - The Large Garden _ 1841](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1513/26119858495_08aea4c29c_o.jpg)
The Large Garden
His attention then shifted to interior and his exploring of human psyche got deeper, though ostentatiously playful still:
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF - The Checkered Blouse & Two Poodles _ 1912](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1560/25515092744_e577fd9535_o.jpg)
The Checkered Blouse & Two Poodles
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF - The White Cat _ 4525](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1514/26041921952_bf76f59060_o.jpg)
The White Cat
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF - Reading the Newspaper _ 1850](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1623/26053500671_4293e3ac1e_o.jpg)
Reading the Newspaper
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF - Woman with Cat or The Demanding Cat _ 1852](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1534/26027332082_4863d618e6_o.jpg)
Woman with Cat or The Demanding Cat
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF - The Bowl of Milk _ 1851](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1481/26027332352_084b770d11_o.jpg)
The Bowl of Milk
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF - Lunch by the Lamp _ 1846](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1718/25517227943_b723b36f08_o.jpg)
Lunch by the Lamp
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF - The Work Table _ 1861](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1545/26119857345_293063a5b6_o.jpg)
The Work Table
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF - Table Conner _ 1856](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1719/25847012550_b905477bbf_o.jpg)
Table Conner
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF - Dining Area at Le Cannet_ 1857](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1448/25517227963_a1cbc374c8_o.jpg)
Dining Area at Le Cannet
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF - Dessert _ 1858](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1484/26053501141_23c9632c31_o.jpg)
Dessert
In some of works, his palette became somber and cool, and even devastating, prefiguring the equally disturbing Edward Hopper:
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF - The Table _ 1855](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1687/25847012260_ea3a0d89f2_o.jpg)
The Table
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF - The Breakfast Room _ 1859](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1585/26093922476_bd1e86004a_o.jpg)
The Breakfast Room
The highlights of this exhibition and his outputs were his nudes — languid women confined in spaces dissected into stripes of various colors and patterns, often full of vigor and charged emotions.
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF - The Dressing Table _ 1863](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1442/25517228533_0b67dfbc06_o.jpg)
The Dressing Table
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF - Woman Dozing on a Bed or The Indolent Woman _ 1849](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1607/26119858455_e8da00985a_o.jpg)
Woman Dozing on a Bed or The Indolent Woman
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF - Man and Woman _ 1848](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1443/25847012960_cbd89d62cf_o.jpg)
Man and Woman
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF - Homage to Maillol _ 1864](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1669/25517227953_030f3d2c11_o.jpg)
Homage to Maillol
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF - The Dressing Room, Nude with Mirror, or Nude Before the Mirror _ 1871](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1505/25515092684_8056d8b281_o.jpg)
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF - The Dressing Room or Pink Dressing Room _ 1870](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1536/25515092704_f85231b5ff_o.jpg)
The Dressing Room, Nude with Mirror, or Nude Before the Mirror & The Dressing Room or Pink Dressing Room
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF - Nude in an Interior _ 1873](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1685/26119857905_97fda964b6_o.jpg)
Nude in an Interior
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF - Nude with Back to Her Toilet, Woman at Her Dressing Table, or Yellow Harmony _ 1869](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1550/26093922856_383c9b8b20_o.jpg)
Nude with Back to Her Toilet, Woman at Her Dressing Table, or Yellow Harmony
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF - Somber Nude (Dina Vierny) _ 1867](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1473/26093922636_140642561a_o.jpg)
Somber Nude (Dina Vierny)
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF - Nude in the Bathtub _ 1874](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1512/26053500771_dbf8a4867b_o.jpg)
Nude in the Bathtub
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF - The Bathtub or The Bath _ 1866](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1628/26093922576_dc8a4d61ec_o.jpg)
The Bathtub or The Bath
His group portraits, a bit intentionally caricaturistic, impressed with their virtuosic and witty compositions.
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF - The
Café "Au Petit Poucet", Place Clichy in the Evening _
1896](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1479/26027332312_5c92f943c5_o.jpg)
The Café "Au Petit Poucet", Place Clichy in the Evening
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF - Evening by the Lamp _ 1862](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1550/26093923066_94b44610fd_o.jpg)
Evening by the Lamp
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF - A Bourgeois Afternoon or The Terrasse family _ 1880](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1559/26027333242_f07ba4f790_o.jpg)
A Bourgeois Afternoon or The Terrasse Family
His portraits, particularly self-portrait, were direct and frank, to the point that I felt the need to avert my eyes under his unflinching gaze.
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF - Self-Portrait _ 1883](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1608/26053500661_2fb87afb08_o.jpg)
Self-Portrait
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF - The Boxer (Portrait of the Artist) _ 1887](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1599/25517227533_850c60b707_o.jpg)
The Boxer (Portrait of the Artist)
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF - Self-Portrait of the Artist _ 1888](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1565/25517227683_eec5fa4def_o.jpg)
Self-Portrait of the Artist
Finally, there were some wonderful cityscapes and landscapes, and more of some decorative works based on biblical stories and Greek mythology, though the latter group didn't exert as much hold on me:
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF - View of the Port, Saint-Tropez _ 1891](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1625/25517227283_70b217d8dc_o.jpg)
View of the Port, Saint-Tropez
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF - Trouville, the Exit of the Port _ 1890](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1568/26093922306_0af92a295c_o.jpg)
Trouville, the Exit of the Port
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF - Almond Tree in Bloom _ 1903](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1632/25847013440_0768fef189_o.jpg)
Almond Tree in Bloom
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF - The Abduction of Europa _ 1909](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1492/26119857635_9f59d2564d_o.jpg)
The Abduction of Europa
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF - On the Boat _ 1901](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1481/25847012690_c424e3aa16_o.jpg)
On the Boat
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF _ 1889](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1719/25517228383_3ce80450c8_o.jpg)
Overall, a most marvelous tribute to a first-rate master, often a tad overlooked by curator and viewers.
![Pierre Bonnard, Legion of Honor, SF _ 4545](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1659/26093923376_bb159d7bea_o.jpg)
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- My Favorite Paintings at Museum of Legion of Honor, San Francisco
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- Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne and Beyond: Post-Impressionist Masterpieces from the Musée d’Orsay at De Young Museum, San Francisco
- Venetian Masterpieces from Vienna at De Young Museum
- Post-Impressionism Masterpieces from the Musée d’Orsay, De Young Museum, San Francisco 2010-11
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