Bonnard, Pierre (1867-1947)
La Table (The Table)
1925
Oil on canvas, 102.9 × 74.3 cm
Tate Britain, London
This painting was bought as a result of the Courtauld Fund. In January 1924 the wealthy textile manufacturer Samuel Courtauld gave the large sum of £50,000 to create a trust for buying Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works for the Tate Gallery. Between 1924 and 1927 the Trust bought nineteen paintings by artists such as Edouard Manet, Paul Gauguin, Auguste Renoir, Claude Monet and Paul Cézanne. This donation transformed the Tate’s Collection of modern art by non-British artists. This significant painting was acquired only a year after it was made, and was the first work by Bonnard to enter the Tate Collection.
The woman is probably Marthe Bonnard, the artist’s wife. She is looking towards a dog whose muzzle is faintly visible on the left, and seems to be preparing its food in a bowl. (Tate)
See also:
• Bonnard, Marthe (1869-1942)