Le chemin jaune aux enfants

Captivated by the brilliant atmosphere of the South of France since his second trip there in 1909, Bonnard purchased a house at Le Cannet outside Cannes in 1926. He would divide his time between the North and the South, spending his summers in Vernonnet near Paris and the winters in the Midi. Bonnard was attracted to the small village of Le Cannet, which boasted stunning views of Cannes, the Golfe de la Napoule and the mountains of the Esterel. The composition of the present work, with its sense of the depth and enormity of the southern landscape, is typical of Bonnard's Le Cannet paintings. Nicholas Watkins has observed, "Bonnard's solution to the problem of reconciling depth with the decorative assertion of the surface in the painting was to treat the landscape as a kind of tapestry into which the view was woven" (N. Watkins, Bonnard, London, 1994, p. 156).

The clarity and intensity of the Mediterranean light had a profound effect on Bonnard's palette. The tensions and conflicts between the transient light of the North and the heavy, permanent atmosphere of the South resulted in Bonnard's colors becoming bolder as he adopted the strong coloring that was to characterize his later style. Le chemin jaune aux enfants perfectly captures the luminous colors and radiant atmosphere of the South.