Skip Navigation

The Bridge (Le Pont)

Pierre Bonnard

European Art

The first decade of Pierre Bonnard’s career was largely defined by his graphic output, from posters and playbills to suites such as Some Aspects of Parisian Life, published by Ambroise Vollard. In the suite’s twelve prints, four of which are shown here, the artist intentionally focused on familiar occurrences and the day-to-day reality of urban life rather than famous landmarks, portraying a Paris that is both intimate and expansive. Such Parisian street views stem from a long tradition of French printmaking, yet Bonnard’s versions of the bustling city are strikingly modern. Using a sophisticated palette and abstracted forms that seem to collapse near and far space, he captured the crowded anonymity and momentary encounters and glimpses that define urban life.
MEDIUM Color lithograph on wove paper
  • Place Made: France
  • DATES 1896–1897
    DIMENSIONS Image: 11 1/2 x 17 in. (29.2 x 43.2 cm) Sheet (Uneven): 16 1/8 x 20 7/8 in. (41 x 53 cm)  (show scale)
    SIGNATURE Signed, "P. Bonnard" lower right in pencil
    INSCRIPTIONS Lower right in graphite: "Bonnard"
    COLLECTIONS European Art
    ACCESSION NUMBER 39.616
    CREDIT LINE By exchange
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Pierre Bonnard (French, 1867–1947). The Bridge (Le Pont), 1896–1897. Color lithograph on wove paper, Image: 11 1/2 x 17 in. (29.2 x 43.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, By exchange, 39.616. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 39.616_acetate_bw.jpg)
    EDITION Edition: 100
    IMAGE overall, 39.616_acetate_bw.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
    "CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
    RIGHTS STATEMENT © artist or artist's estate
    Copyright for this work may be controlled by the artist, the artist's estate, or other rights holders. A more detailed analysis of its rights history may, however, place it in the public domain. The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
    RECORD COMPLETENESS
    Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.
    Pierre Bonnard (French, 1867–1947). <em>The Bridge (Le Pont)</em>, 1896–1897. Color lithograph on wove paper, Image: 11 1/2 x 17 in. (29.2 x 43.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, By exchange, 39.616. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 39.616_acetate_bw.jpg)