Bonier, charles

Charles Bonnier was born in Brussels in the family of the clerk Charles Joseph Bonnier and Alexandrina Rawlins, who gave lessons in singing and playing the piano. Charles had two younger sisters: Adele and Anna.

Charles himself married in 1844 to Antoinette Honey. ^[2] .

From an early age, Charles Bonnier showed an interest in drawing. In 1827, he entered the Brussels Academy of Fine Arts , where his mentors were Joseph Paelink and Florent Willems . He showed particular interest in lithography , which was gaining popularity at the time. Upon graduation in 1829, Charles’s father took him to work at the Ministry of Finance, where he worked himself. This did not prevent Charlie from continuing to do what he loved, he did pencil portraits of colleagues and friends ^[2] .

Publication lithographs Bonnier in the magazine "Artist" contributed to his fame. He left his post in the ministry and devoted himself entirely to art. From 1835 to 1842, Bonnier executed about one hundred and thirty portraits of deputies of the Belgian House of Representatives in lithography technique. Like many artists, wanting to cultivate themselves, Bonnier went to Paris in 1837 . There he spent several months spinning in artistic circles. The artist immortalized his Parisian dating in a series of lithographs. Between 1837 and 1840, he executed thirty portraits, including such artists, sculptors and musicians as Louis Halle , Nicaise de Keyser , , Jean Baptiste Madou , Horace Vernet , Paul Delaroche , Hippolyte Bellange , François Bouaudot , Jean Pierre Dantin and Charles Auguste de Berio . The album of lithographs was edited by Antoine Devasma , each portrait was accompanied by a biography written by the models themselves. In 1841 , not without the patronage of representatives of the Chamber, the artist was given the honor to draw portraits of members of the Belgian royal family ^[2] . Bonnier is also known for painting the first Belgian postage stamp , introduced into circulation on July 1, 1849 and dubbed “ Epaulettes ”. Mark portrayed King Leopold I from a portrait by .

In 1843 he moved to London . Presented by Plenipotentiary Leopold I Sylvain Van de Weier to Prince Consort Albert , Bonnier painted the portrait of the latter. This privilege served the artist as a good advertisement, and he began to receive orders from representatives of the London high society. At the end of the 1850s, the demand for lithographs declined, the photograph gradually replaced the painted portraits. In 1857, Bonnier painted an oil painting "Seamstress". She attracted the attention of the artist William Frayt , who advised Bonnier to continue to paint in oils and give him advice on this technique.

The artist completed several more lithographs in London before finally moving to Paris. There he focused on painting and regularly exhibited his works in the salons of Paris, Brussels and London. Most often, Bonnier wrote women: "Reader", "Visit to the widow", "Letter", "Drawing Lesson".

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  Portrait of Paul Devo ,
  OK. 1835 - 1842

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  Leopold I family

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  Portrait of Charles Dickens , 1858

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  "Drawing Lesson"

• Berko P. & V. Dictionnaire des peintres belges nés entre 1750 & 1875 - Knokke, 1981 - c. 34-35
• Camille Lemonnier Histoire des Beaux-arts en Belgique (1830-1887). Peinture, gravure, sculpture et architecture - Bruxelles, 1887 (2e édition)
• Collectif, La lithographie 1797-1997: deux siècles de création - La Louvière, 1997

• Aline Wachtelaer. Charles Baugniet (fr.) (Not available link) . - a site dedicated to the artist. Archived December 16, 2013.
• Dictionary of Artists of Belgium (Fr.) . - Biography.