Armistice

Painted in 1918, shortly after the end of the Great War, Armistice perfectly captures the revelry and jubilation that greeted the cessation of hostilities. Bonnard's vibrant evocation of the impromptu street parties which broke out all over France symbolises renewed hope for the age. Armistice recalls Bonnard's earlier Nabis explorations of the Nocturne, and its softening effects on scenes of Paris street life, but by 1918 Bonnard's use of colour and light had undergone a radical change. He had embraced the light and atmosphere of the South of France during his second trip in 1909 and, as a result, his palette had become bolder and he had adopted the strong colouring that characterises his later style. Bonnard's technique in the 1890s of creating a duality of light and darkness by punctuating the night with street lights or with gaudily dressed characters here finds its echo some two decades later, although Armistice concentrates less on darkness than on the depiction of night through the use of colour. The only night depicted is the small area of sky at the upper centre; the rest of the composition relies on subdued, but strong colours, from the orange of the lanterns and the carousel to the blues of the soldiers' uniforms as they dance in the streets.