Young Girl Sitting with a Rabbit
Bonnard, like many artists of the late 19th century, was influenced by the art of Japanese wood block prints. These prints were an object of awe for the artist, who was intrigued by the disposal of a representative third dimension of space, and the representation of the forms in two dimensions. Instead of complex light and shading, he flattened out his figures out in decorative patterns and idealized shapes. Young Girl Sitting with a Rabbit also exemplifies some of the traits that characterize Bonnard’s Nabis Period, such as the S-curve of the young girl’s body, the flourishly decorative forms, and as previously mentioned, the flat two dimensional composition.
