Alain Bonnefoit (b. 1937), Act 3, 1988

Artist: Alain Bonnefoit
Technique: color lithograph on paper
Mounting: None
Signature: handwritten in pencil: A. Bonnefoit
Dimensions: 36 x 54 cm (sheet)

Born in Montmartre, Paris, in 1937, Bonnefoit is one of the most highly regarded contemporary painters of nudes. Bonnefoit enrolled at L’École des Arts Appliqués and L’École des Beaux-Arts in 1953, and later at L’École des Beaux-Arts in Brussels to study printmaking and sculpture. In 1962, he returned to Paris, where he studied under the renowned sculptor Antoniucci Volti. It was under Volti’s influence that Bonnefoit began to devote himself to drawing and painting the female nude.
Bonnefoit is a master of Sumi-e: an East Asian form of ink painting. The practice of Sumi-e, which is very difficult to master and remarkable for its sinuous and fluid use of line, gave Bonnefoit a unique understanding of the expression of the female nude. This skill and understanding are evident throughout his body of work.
Bonnefoit’s distinctive style, characterized by a sensuous and elegant depiction of the female form, encompasses the use of oils, watercolors, pastels, ink, and pencil.
Major retrospectives of Bonnefoit’s work have been held at the Marino Marini Museum in Florence and at museums in Korea and Germany. His works can be found in the art collections of the French government and the City of Paris, the Boccaccio Museum in Certaldo, and the Kwan Ju Museum in Korea.