Colour lithograph, 1898
210 x 190 mm [Sheet 404 x 300 mm]
Reference: Roger-Marx 73; Bouvet 53
A fine proof with wide margins on chine volant paper aside from the cut-down sheet edition published by André Mellerio, Noel Clement-Janin and L'estampe et l'affiche, and issued as the frontispiece for La lithographie originale en couleurs in 1898. In his publication, André Mellerio championed the new innovative modern Nabis printmakers' broad flat stylised designs, limited use of four or five colours and focus on the energetic lifestyle of Paris and its inhabitants at the turn of the century. He considered Bonnard at the top of his list of pioneers in colour lithography along with Toulouse-Lautrec, Edouard Vuillard and Ker-Xavier Roussel.
This impression is similar in colour and paper type and size to the impression held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Provenance: From the collection of Diane Wynyard (1906-1964).
Diana Wynyard, one of the outstanding stage actresses of her day, will be remembered for her starring performance as the frightened wife driven mad by her abusive husband, in the 1940, original British screen version of Gaslight. In the same year as the movie's release, she purchased this impression from the Burlington Gallery, Bond Street, London. One is struck by the remarkable similarity between the Bonnard depiction of a couple in the audience and this still image from a scene in the film. Perhaps Diana treated herself with this lively French lithograph as a reminder of her acclaimed success in the role of Bella Mallen.