1912 -1939 · Maison Ma Roulotte, terrace, river and landscape of memory

In Vernonnet, Bonnard transforms the Seine into lived light: tugboat, pasture, sun and bank intertwine with the garden, the window and the memory.

In 1912, Pierre Bonnard bought a house in Vernonnet, near Vernon and not far from Giverny, which he named Ma Roulotte. Until 1939, this place in the Seine valley nourished landscapes, terraces, dining rooms and views from the window. Bonnard did not seek an immediate transcription of the motif. He observes, draws, sometimes notes the light conditions, then reconstructs the painting in the workshop. Tug on the Seine introduces a mobile presence into the expanse of the river; the boat becomes a dark accent in the middle of the reflections. The Pâturage, bord de Seine introduces a mobile presence into the expanse of the river; the boat becomes a dark accent in the middle of the reflections. The Pâturage, bord de Seine, introduces a mobile presence into the expanse of the river; the boat becomes a dark accent in the middle of the reflections. The Pâturage, bord de Seine, introduces a mobile presence into the expanse of the river; the boat becomes a dark accent in the middle of the reflections. The Pâturage, bord de Seine combines agricultural shore and luminous depth. Sunlight in Vernon makes brilliance the real subject, while Bords the Seine superimposes vegetation, water and sky without rigid borders. The house itself organizes the view. Window, terrace, balustrade and tree trunk function as thresholds between interior and landscape. Bonnard frequents Claude Monet in Giverny, but his relationship with light remains personal: less optical series than colorful memory. He takes up certain paintings for years, letting the yellows, greens and purples reorder the space. Vernonnet becomes a complete world where Marthe, the dog, the table and the garden can appear at the edge of the river without hierarchy. The selection "Seine et Vernonnet by Pierre Bonnard" notably compares Tugboat on the Seine and Le pasture, banks of the Seine. His reading favors color.

In Vernonnet, the Seine is never just in front of the house: it crosses the window, the terrace and the colorful memory of the painter.