Three Birds
1945-1946
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
lithograph with graphite on yellow paper cut out and mounted on wove paper
Dimensions
image: 8.89 × 11.43 cm (3 1/2 × 4 1/2 in.) irregular overall: 32.7 × 25.08 cm (12 7/8 × 9 7/8 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of the Virginia and Ira Jackson Collection
Accession Number
2004.162.47
Art Historical Context
Pierre Bonnard's *Three* (1945–1946) is a charming late work by the renowned French Post-Impressionist painter and printmaker, best known for his association with the Nabi movement. Created in the final years of his life—just before his death in 1947—this intimate lithograph captures Bonnard's enduring fascination with everyday beauty and nature. The three birds, rendered simply yet evocatively, embody his signature style: vibrant color harmonies, playful patterns, and a sense of joyful domesticity, even in a modest scale of just 3½ × 4½ inches. The artwork's medium—lithograph enhanced with g...
About the Artist
Pierre Bonnard
Pierre Bonnard (1867–1947) was a French painter and printmaker who became a leading figure in the Post-Impressionist movement and a founding member of Les Nabis. Born on October 3, 1867, in Fontenay-aux-Roses, France, Bonnard initially studied law at his father's insistence, graduating and briefly practicing as a barrister in 1888. However, his true passion lay in art, and he had simultaneously at...