The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 18, 2024

The Dessert

1921

Pierre Bonnard

(French, 1867–1947)

France, 20th century

oil on fabric

Framed: 114.6 x 117.5 x 7.9 cm (45 1/8 x 46 1/4 x 3 1/8 in.); Unframed: 76.2 x 80 cm (30 x 31 1/2 in.)

Gift of the Hanna Fund 1949.18

Location: 223 20th Century Avant-Garde

Did You Know?

In this painting Bonnard gives us a colorful glimpse of an intimate dinner scene at the beginning of the 20th century. He places us close to the figures and a little bit higher, as if we were just standing to leave the table, allowing the viewer to imagine being part of the scene.

Description

This domestic scene depicts a woman at a dining table accompanied by a young man at whose side is a small dog, just visible at the edge of the table. The woman is the artist’s wife, Marthe. The boy has been identified as Ari Redon, the son of artist Odilon Redon; the dachshund is the Bonnard family pet, Poucette. The painting explores the simple pleasures of daily life—a shared meal, quiet companionship—enriched through the application of glowing, sensual color.

By 1924
Henri Kapferer [1870-1956] and Marcel Kapferer [1872-1966], Paris
By 1943
(Galerie O. Pétridès, Paris
Until 1949
(Paul Rosenberg & Co., New York, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
1949-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
Provenance Footnotes
1 The Kapferer brothers are listed as the lenders/owners of Bonnard’s Le Dessert, no. 108 in the Première exposition au profit de la Société des Amis du Luxembourg. The Bonnard catalogue raisonné incorrectly lists this exhibition as taking place in 1932.
2 While there have been some suggestions that the Bonnard was with Galerie Pétridès in 1932, there does not appear to be any confirming documentation; however, the painting does appear in a 1943 Bonnard exhibition at the gallery (no. 15, Après le déjeuner).
Paul Rosenberg & Co., invoice to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Feb. 7, 1949, in CMA curatorial file.
Galerie O. Pétridès. 18 peintures de Bonnard. Paris: Galerie O. Pétridès, 1943.
Société des amis du Luxembourg. 1re exposition de collectionneurs: ouverte du 10 mars au 10 avril 1924 au profit de la Sociʹetʹe des Amis du Luxembourg en l'Hotel de la Curiositʹe et des Beaux-Arts. Paris: Frazier-Soye, 1924.
Francis, Henry S. “The Art of Pierre Bonnard.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 37, no. 1 (January 1950): 2, 5–8. Reproduced: p. 2; Mentioned: p. 5-8 www.jstor.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 516 archive.org
Henning, Edward B. “South of His House, North of His House: Nyack, a Painting by Fairfield Porter.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 58, no. 3 (March 1971): 85–90. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 86-87, fig. 3 www.jstor.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 226 archive.org
Henning, Edward B. “Pierre Bonnard: La Terrasse de Café.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 65, no. 2 (February 1978): 58–65. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 64, fig. 5 www.jstor.org
Argencourt, Louise d', and Roger Diederen. Catalogue of Paintings. Pt. 4. European Paintings of the 19th Century. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1974. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 46-47, Vol. I, no. 17
Franklin, David. The Cleveland Museum of Art. London: Scala Arts & Heritage Publishers Ltd., 2012. Reproduced: p. 68 - 69
Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 299
Paintings in the Cleveland Museum of Art: Picture Book No. 4 . [Cleveland]: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1952. Reproduced: p. 42 archive.org
Provenance Footnotes
1 The Kapferer brothers are listed as the lenders/owners of Bonnard’s Le Dessert, no. 108 in the Première exposition au profit de la Société des Amis du Luxembourg. The Bonnard catalogue raisonné incorrectly lists this exhibition as taking place in 1932.
2 While there have been some suggestions that the Bonnard was with Galerie Pétridès in 1932, there does not appear to be any confirming documentation; however, the painting does appear in a 1943 Bonnard exhibition at the gallery (no. 15, Après le déjeuner).
Impressionism to Modernism: The Keithley Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 11, 2022-January 8, 2023).
Monet to Dalí: Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Beijing World Art Museum, China (May 26-August 27, 2006); Mori Art Center (September 16-November 26, 2006); Seoul Art Center, South Korea (December 22, 2006-March 28, 2007); Seoul Olympic Museum of Art, South Korea (April 7-May 20, 2007); Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada (June 9-September 16, 2007); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 21, 2007-January 13, 2008); Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN (February 15-June 1, 2008); Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, UT (June 22-September 21, 2008); The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI (October 12, 2008-January 18, 2009).
CMA (organizer). Beijing World Art Museum, China, May 26 - Aug. 27, 2006; Mori Arts Center, Tokyo, Japan: Sept. 9 - Nov. 26, 2006; Seoul Arts Center, Seoul, Korea: Dec. 18, 2006 - March 31, 2007; Seoul Olympic Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea: Apr. 7 - May 20, 2007; Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: June 9 - Sept. 16, 2007; Cleveland Museum of Art, Oct. 21, 2007- January 13, 2008; Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, TN, Feb. 21-June 1, 2008; Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, UT, June 22 - September 21, 2008; and the Detroit Institute of Arts, MI, October 12, 2008 - January 18, 2009: "Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art"
Object in Focus: Pierre Bonnard's The Dessert. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 1-October 14, 1997).
Cleveland, Ohio: The Cleveland Museum of Art; September 1 - October 14, 1997. "Object in Focus: Pierre Bonnard's The Dessert."
Possibly Paris. Première exposition des collections au profit de la Société des Amis du Luxembourg (according to damaged label on the back).
In Memoriam: Leonard C. Hanna, Jr.. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 4-April 7, 1958).
Akron (Ohio) Art Institute. Masterpiece Series (1957), no catalogue.
New York, Paul Rosenberg. Bonnard (1956), no. 6, 10 (repr.).
Paris, Galerie O. Pétridès. 18 peintures de Bonnard (1943), no. 15 (repr.), Après le déjeuner.
Possibly Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts. Exposition d'Art Français Moderne (1929), no. 418, Après le déjeuner; or no. 421, Dessert, both owned by Kapferer.
Antwerp, Kunst van Heden/Art Contemporain. Exposition d'art français moderne (1926), no. 3, Au dessert, App. à M. A. Kapferer.
Provenance Footnotes
1 The Kapferer brothers are listed as the lenders/owners of Bonnard’s Le Dessert, no. 108 in the Première exposition au profit de la Société des Amis du Luxembourg. The Bonnard catalogue raisonné incorrectly lists this exhibition as taking place in 1932.
2 While there have been some suggestions that the Bonnard was with Galerie Pétridès in 1932, there does not appear to be any confirming documentation; however, the painting does appear in a 1943 Bonnard exhibition at the gallery (no. 15, Après le déjeuner).
{{cite web|title=The Dessert|url=false|author=Pierre Bonnard|year=1921|access-date=18 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Provenance Footnotes
1 The Kapferer brothers are listed as the lenders/owners of Bonnard’s Le Dessert, no. 108 in the Première exposition au profit de la Société des Amis du Luxembourg. The Bonnard catalogue raisonné incorrectly lists this exhibition as taking place in 1932.
2 While there have been some suggestions that the Bonnard was with Galerie Pétridès in 1932, there does not appear to be any confirming documentation; however, the painting does appear in a 1943 Bonnard exhibition at the gallery (no. 15, Après le déjeuner).

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1949.18