This painting can be considered the very essence of Bonnard’s Intimist style and subject matter. A moment of complete privacy, of relaxed self-absorption, has been caught forever, with such loving delicacy that privacy seems not to be invaded.

NUDE WITH A LAMP (c. 1912)
Oil on Canvas

In the warm seclusion of her boudoir a nude, probably Bonnard’s wife Marthe, stands holding a sheer, white chemise. Her attitude is distinctly unposed and unaware. The contrast between shadow and soft golden lamplight which cosily defines the bed also models the woman’s body with a sculptural sureness of volumes -- in contrast to the rather uncertain drawing of her arms. Her head is bent in a pose reminiscent of other Bonnard paintings; with its mass of soft hair it seems almost echoed in the bursts of floral design patterning the wallpaper. Decoration becomes an integral part of the composition.