The big blue naked 1924

Editor: Okay, so we’re looking at "The Big Blue Naked," painted in 1924 by Pierre Bonnard. It's an oil painting, and the application is quite thick in places... it feels incredibly intimate, almost voyeuristic. What is your take on this painting? Curator: Intimate, definitely. Bonnard had a particular fascination with the domestic space. His wife, Marthe de Meligny, was a frequent subject; she's thought to be the model here, caught in a private moment, maybe stepping into or out of a bath. Notice how the blue, far from being cold, creates a cocooning effect. The fractured perspectives and shifting spatial relationships pull you into Marthe's personal world, as Bonnard saw it, that is. It feels…fragile, somehow. Wouldn't you agree? Editor: Fragile, yes. The blurring of edges and use of light also lend an ethereal quality. It's not exactly a straightforward depiction. I'm also curious about the title--it feels deliberately provocative. Curator: Aha! Bonnard often used color expressively, rather than realistically. In "The Big Blue Naked," the skin shimmers with blues and violets, and this treatment removes it from objective, realistic painting. Now, is it simply because blue provides a sense of space, of coolness...or is it something more complex? Color, especially for the Post-Impressionists, has such an emotional resonance. It dances, and the title is as sensual and complicated as is marriage. Editor: So, it’s as if Bonnard uses the color and the unusual composition to evoke a feeling more than depicting a physical reality? Curator: Precisely! Think of it as a visual poem about domesticity, intimacy, and maybe the beautiful complexities that exist within long-term relationships. Editor: I never considered that marriage and relationships could have such influence! Curator: Me neither, until just this moment! That's the thing about art. It's always saying something new.