L’Enfant à la lampe

Throughout the 1890s, lamplight was a common theme Bonnard used to suggest the physical and emotional shelter provided by the home. Family life after dark tended to be concentrated around a table lit by an oil or kerosene lamp. The face of the child is illuminated by the light source in a manner that recalls the dramatic stage lighting of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s posters. In Bonnard’s scene however, the atmosphere is one of quiet absorption.