Exhibition ‘Bonnard and the Nordic Countries’ Opening at Nationalmuseum on 20 February

Pierre Bonnard was one of the twentieth century’s most influential artists. In iridescent images, the Frenchman captured the world around him: his home, family, garden, bustling streets, and the view on the ocean from his window. In recent years, crowds around the world have flocked to exhibitions of Bonnard’s paintings. Nationalmuseum’s exhibition is the first one in Sweden in more than seven decades. It also highlights Bonnard’s impact on Scandinavian art for the first time, with his work presented alongside that of select Scandinavian artists. ‘Bonnard and the Nordic Countries’ will run from 20 February to 18 May.

The exhibition ‘Bonnard and the Nordic Countries’ offers new perspectives on Pierre Bonnard’s life and work. Visitors get to accompany the Frenchman from his debut as a poster artist who depicted modern life in Paris in the late 1800s, to his years painting vibrant and intimate interpretations of daily life and the landscape in the southeast of France, in Normandy, and on the French Riviera, where Bonnard spent the last two decades of his life. Bonnard lived from 1867 to 1947 and is often seen as an artist who charted his own course, unaffected by the many -isms of modern art.

His paintings are more than shimmering idylls, though. They also contain puzzlingly ambiguous details that can be interpreted in multiple ways against the backdrop of the era’s disquiet and war. Pierre Bonnard’s life partner Marthe makes regular appearances in the artist’s work. The exhibition introduces Marthe Bonnard as an individual and highlights her impact on Bonnard’s creative endeavours. Visitors get to admire several of her own, rare works – signed ‘Marthe Solange’.

“The exhibition features more than a hundred works by Bonnard, including key paintings on loan from institutions like Musée d’Orsay in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the National Gallery of Art in Washington,” says Linda Hinners, one of the exhibition’s curators. “We’re thrilled to be able to present such a comprehensive picture of this international star, and to introduce Scandinavian museumgoers to Marthe Bonnard.”

Bonnard had a significant influence on his peers, both during his lifetime and after his death. This was the case not least in Scandinavia: in 1939, a major exhibition of Bonnard paintings opened its doors in Oslo, Gothenburg and Stockholm. It was the biggest to be held outside of France up until then. In Sweden, Bonnard became a source of inspiration for the so-called Gothenburg Colourists. Seeing Bonnard’s paintings left an impression on artists like Ragnar Sandberg, Karin Parrow and Ivan Ivarson. In Finland, Bonnard’s art played a key role for the Septem Group, of which artists like Magnus Enckell and Ellen Thesleff were part. This spring’s exhibition will also explore the unique relation between Bonnard’s psychologically multi-facetted painting and the imagery of Norwegian Edvard Munch.

Through Bonnard’s paintings, visitors get to both discover unexpected aspects of Scandinavian art and see the Frenchman himself in a new light.

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Details

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Besides art by Pierre Bonnard himself, the exhibition also includes work by Nils Dardel, Magnus Enckell, Thorvald Erichsen, Hans Finne-Grønn, Harald Giersing, Åke Göransson, Ivan Ivarson, Arne Kavli, Ragnvald Magnusson, Nils Nilsson, Vera Nilsson, Yrjö Ollila, Karin Parrow, Ragnar Sandberg, Inge Schiöler, Marthe Solange/Bonnard, Henrik Sörensen, Ellen Thesleff, and Astri Welhaven Heiberg.

Curators: Per Hedström and Linda Hinners, Nationalmuseum

Exhibit design: Sara Al Adhami, Nationalmuseum

The exhibition catalogue features articles by Véronique Serrano, Lucy Whelan, and Nils Ohlsen, among others.

‘Bonnard and the Nordic Countries’ was created in partnership with the Lillehammer Art Museum, where it will be on display from 15 June to 19 October 2025. The exhibition received generous support from Dr Herbert and Anne-Marie Lembcke’s Ad Infinitum foundation.