It is a common fallacy that the art of Bonnard, one of the greatest colorists of the modern age, owed little to drawing and that he revealed his genius most fully in his paintings. This view is flawed on two accounts. To begin with, it overlooks the precise nature of the formative years of the artist's career. During this period, which lasted until the early years of the twentieth century, Bonnard lavished a good deal of his attention on graphic work, such as posters, lithographs, and the illustration of sheet music and printed books. It was this early activity which won him fame, a living wage, and, perhaps most important to Bonnard, his independence. Bonnard was proud of his success in a very competitive field. Thus, when asked to name his major creations prior to 1900, he cited only his graphic work. This preference was in keeping with avant-garde theories in fin de siècle Paris, especially those of the Nabis, the small but influential company of artists of which Bonnard was a prominent member. They opposed the conventional view that considered the applied and graphic arts as inferior to painting. The artist's graphic output from these years, a great variety of which is presented here - reveals an art markedly different from the languid nudes, colorful interiors and landscapes for which he is best known. Instead we see Bonnard as a keen and witty observer of urban life, a master of intricate linear design, engaged in projects for the theater, musical scores and commercial advertisement. The second reason that Bonnard's drawings and watercolors have been neglected is that they have remained largely unknown, in contrast to his oil paintings and prints, which have been for the most part catalogued. These shed light on the working method of an intensely private artist who drew constantly and with great sensitivity. The direct, often rapid observations that he put on paper were an essential point of reference as he conceived and executed his paintings. Not usually prone to artistic pronouncements, Bonnard was clear on the importance of the most spontaneous stages in the creative process. As he wrote: "Le dessin, c'est la sensation; la couleur, c'est le raisonnement" (Drawing is feeling; color is reasoning). It was the initial sensations that the artist attempted over and over again to capture, rather than some objectively verifiable truth.