Editing Pierre Bonnard (section)

==Early life and education==
[[File:Pierre Bonnard A Barracks Scene.jpg|thumb|left|''A Barracks Scene'' by Pierre Bonnard (probably about 1890). His first [[Les Nabis|Nabi]] painting, a souvenir of his brief military service]]
Pierre Bonnard was born in [[Fontenay-aux-Roses]], [[Hauts-de-Seine]] on 3 October 1867. His mother, Élisabeth Mertzdorff, was from [[Alsace]]. His father, Eugène Bonnard, was from the [[Dauphiné]], and was a senior official in the French Ministry of War. He had a brother, Charles, and a sister, Andrée, who in 1890 married the composer [[Claude Terrasse]].<ref>Cogeval, Guy, ''Bonnard'' (2015), p. 148</ref>

He received his education in the Lycée Louis-le-Grand and Lycée Charlemagne in Vanves. He showed a talent for drawing and water colors, as well as caricatures. He painted frequently in the gardens of his parents' country home at [[Le Grand-Lemps]] near [[La Côte-Saint-André]] in the [[Dauphiné]]. He also showed a strong interest in literature.<ref>Cogeval, Guy, ''Bonnard'' (2015), p. 8</ref> He received his baccalaureate in the classics, and, to satisfy his father, between 1886 and 1887 earned his license in law, and began practicing as a lawyer in 1888.<ref>Cogeval, Guy, ''Bonnard'' (2015) p. 8</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/biography/Pierre-Bonnard|title=Pierre Bonnard {{!}} French artist|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=18 April 2016}}</ref>

While he was studying law, he attended art classes at the [[Académie Julian]] in Paris.<ref>[http://www.abcgallery.com/B/bonnard/bonnard.html abcgallery.com]</ref><ref>[http://www.eugeniodavenezia.eu/en/amici_pittori.php?id=4 ugeniodavenezia.eu]</ref> At the Académie Julian he met his future friends and fellow artists, [[Paul Sérusier]], [[Maurice Denis]], Gabriel Ibels and [[Paul Ranson]].<ref name="Cogeval148">Cogeval, Guy, ''Bonnard'' (2015) p. 148</ref>

In 1888, Bonnard was accepted by the [[École des Beaux-Arts]], where he met [[Édouard Vuillard]] and [[Ker Xavier Roussel]]. He also sold his first commercial work of art, a design for a poster for France-Champagne, which helped him convince his family that he could make a living as an artist. His first studio was on the rue Lechapelais.<ref name="Cogeval148" />

In 1889–1890, Bonnard performed military service as a ''soldat de deuxième classe'' in the 52nd Infantry Regiment. After leaving the Army, Bonnard did not return to the Law, but rather to art, becoming an artist.