In spring and summer of 2025 we will be hosting an exhibition on the pioneering French artist Pierre Bonnard. Often called the master of colour, his paintings are loved by museum visitors around the world.

When Pierre Bonnard (1867–1947) showed his work in the late 19th and early 20th century, audiences were struck by the artist's bold and innovative way of depicting people, spaces and landscapes. The paintings can be seen as a kind of separate universe of colour and light, imbued with strong presence and emotion. Many artists were influenced by Bonnard's images and his reach went as far as the Nordic countries also.

Pierre Bonnard, Jeunes filles à la mouette, 1917. Oil on canvas. Petit Palais, musée des Beaux-art de la Ville de Paris.

Pierre Bonnard, Fenêtre ouverte sur la Seine, 1912. Oil on canvas. Musée des Beaux-Arts Jules Chéret, Nice.

Pierre Bonnard, Interior with a Woman in a Wicker Chair 1920. Oil on canvas.. Nationalmuseum

Pierre Bonnard, Nude in Counter-light. Oil on canvas.. Nationalmuseum

Pierre Bonnard, Poppies in a Vase, ca 1915. Oil on canvas. Nationalmuseum

In spring 2025, you will be able to experience Bonnard's art in a major exhibition here at Nationalmuseum. Several of the paintings will be borrowed from France from the Musée d'Orsay and Petit Palais in Paris, the Musée Bonnard in Le Cannet, and the Musée des Beaux Arts in Nice.

To highlight the relationship between Bonnard's paintings and the art of the Nordic countries, the exhibition will also include works by influential Nordic artists.
The exhibition is the first of its kind in Sweden. It will also be presented in Lillehammer, Norway, in autumn 2025.

French-Swedish collaboration

For this project, Nationalmuseum is collaborating with the French Embassy, the French Cultural Institute in Sweden and the French Chamber of Commerce in Stockholm.