Bonnard drew on the Japanese printmakers, especially Hiroshige, to convey the essence of Paris not through its monuments or vistas, but with scenes of bustling daily life observed from idiosyncratic angles. But unlike the Japanese artists, he worked with a painterly sense of texture and colour that remains as astonishing today as when it was first published. This is one of the three hugely original portfolios of etchings brought out in 1899 by the great dealer Ambroise Vollard, and printed by the master craftsman Auguste Clot. The other two are by Édouard Vuillard and Maurice Denis, and all three are being published simultaneously by Pallas Athene. AUTHOR: Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947) shot to fame in Paris with a poster advertising champagne. His interest in printmaking lasted for the rest of his life, but the mastery of luminous colour in his paintings was perhaps unequalled in the 20th century. Bonnard was a leading figure in the transition from Impressionism to Modernism. He painted landscapes, urban scenes, portraits and intimate domestic scenes, where the backgrounds, colours and painting style usually took precedence over the subject. SELLING POINTS: . Bonnard's scenes of bustling daily life in Paris . This is one of the three hugely original portfolios of etchings brought out in 1899 by the great dealer Ambroise Vollard 13 colour illustrations