Rupert Bunny: artist in Paris

Overview

Though he both arrived and exited his life in Victoria, it was Paris in which this much beloved Australian artist flourished. Between 1885 and 1933, Bunny lived in France, for the most part with his wife Jeanne Morel who appears regularly in his lovely paintings. Of course, the word 'lovely' often carries connotations of subtle inoffensiveness but that definition doesn't align with the work on display in the AGNSW's new exhibiton, Rupert Bunny: artist in Paris. His work is lovely, jawdroppingly so.

Capturing the Belle Epoque in pastel and jewel tones, Rupert Bunny's work focusses largely on women (particularly Jeanne) in their languid, pre-war leisure pursuits, and later evolved into more textural landscapes of the French and Australian countryside. Often considered a second generation Impressionist, Bunny's renderings of women with their relaxed smiles and full lips make it almost impossible to keep a safe distance, you'll want to kiss or befriend them.

With a tendency to pull from his childhood love of Greek mythology, his work has a dreamy haze attached to it which will envelope this exhibition of more than 100 works. Watch you don't get lost.