Early Spring. Little Fauns

1908

Illustrations for a Book by Octave Mirbeau

In 1908 Bonnard illustrated a book by Octave Mirbeau and made his first extended stay in the south of France.

June 1909

Visiting Manguin in Saint-Tropez

In June 1909 Bonnard stayed with the painter Manguin at the Villa Demière in Saint-Tropez; View of Saint-Tropez, or The Alley, painted there, later formed the basis of the central panel of the Morozov triptych.

January 1910

Morozov's Commission for the Mediterranean Triptych

In January 1910 Ivan Morozov, through the Bernheim-Jeune gallery, commissioned from Bonnard a large triptych for the staircase of his Moscow mansion on Prechistenka Street.

March 1910

Solo Exhibition at Bernheim-Jeune

At Bonnard's solo exhibition at the Bernheim-Jeune gallery in March 1910, Train and Barges was shown for the first time, attracting the attention of Guillaume Apollinaire.

September 1910

Trip to Saint-Tropez to Visit Paul Simon

In September 1910 Bonnard stayed in Saint-Tropez at the invitation of Paul Simon and wrote to his mother that the south had struck him like a scene from the Thousand and One Nights; he returned there in March 1911.