Like in Checked Blouse, in The Croquet Game (1892), Bonnard’s development as a colorist is apparent in his use of color as an organizational tool, but the scene depicted here is more complex than his previous subjects of a single woman or several women indoors, showing an adaptation of his newfound logic of color to an even larger scale. The Japanese presence in this work is immediately apparent in the flatness of each figure. Even the leaves of the trees are so stylized as to look practically like paper cutouts. Our eye is drawn to this bright green, and the triangular shape of the leaves directs our attention to the woman who is taking her turn at the croquet game. She is dressed in white and flanked by two figures in black. The bright yellow splashes of sky create another plane to the rear of the scene, where a circle of girls is dancing. It is these colors that create a sense of perspective in the work and guide our eyes to the different figures within the painting, creating a logic in the way we view the art. This use of an outdoor setting is also important in that it is a foreshadowing of Bonnard’s later Southern paintings, many of which relied heavily on natural light and the outdoors. It is clear here that Bonnard was inspired as a colorist by the vibrancy of nature’s palate far before his move South.