Bonnard, Pierre. (1867–1947)

Mother and Child, from "Petit Solfège Illustré."

1893. Lithograph, 212 x 278 mm. Framed. This moving image of a child and mother examining a music book appeared as the back cover to Bonnard's Petit Solfège Illustré (Little Illustrated Solfeggio), one of Bonnard’s earliest and most charming publications, a primer in musical notation for children, by his brother-in-law Claude Terrasse.


"The child is absorbed in the book, the mother in the child, and because the brushstrokes are all of a kind, if varied in size, the figures merge into their surroundings. With the abstract, curved lines in the background serving to reinforce a sense of enclosure, the scene takes on the feeling of a nest, emphasizing their inderdependency." (Helen Giambruni in "Pierre Bonnard:: The Graphic Art," p. 44) (1292)
Art/Sculpture
Song