Clune Galleries, Sydney
Private collection, Sydney
When asked about his career, Bunny invariably referred to “the people
and institutions who had bought his paintings”. Between 1886 and 1902,during
his time in Paris and regional areas throughout France, Bunny’s connections
endowed him with a formidable patronage. This was particularly so during the
early 1900s la belle époque in Paris; which witnessed the “heyday
of a glittering social parade”. Bunny homed in on this fashion and painted
the sorts of subject favoured by the many influential and fashionable patrons
of the time. “The theme was glamour, beautiful women, fashionable frills,
sun and sensuous music. ”His most successful market was for images of
women at leisure, often “portraying a luxurious domesticity” and “romantically
dressed women”. His chief model for many of these paintings was his wife,
Jeanne.
La Toilette highlights the “tonalism that characterised his art from 1900
to 1911”. It is also indicative of Bunny ’s penchant for particular
motifs such as favoured furniture, the ubiquitous red and white striped canvas
blind, the soft furnishings and, in keeping with the sensuous images of feminine
leisure, the chinoiserie-inspired ‘tea gown ’.
Bunny's works of this period may be considered Symbolist, offering“...the
suggestion of a dark,warm,perfumed and languorous atmosphere...Fans, roses...the
rich undress of the women...the women themselves...and the suggestions they
convey of dreaming, of waiting, of silence, and of distant music.”
Exhibited
Possibly,as part of an exhibition entitled Days and Nights in August, London,
1911
Represented
National Gallery of Australia
All State galleries and regional collections throughout Australia
University of Melbourne
