France, (1868-1941)
-
-
Bretons gardant les porcs
- (‘Bretons keeping pigs’)
- (1892), oil on canvas
- 32.7 x 45.7 in. (83 x 116 cm.)
- The Indianapolis Museum of Art
-
Editor’s Note:
I would like to thank Grillon du Foyer at her blog on art and life in Brittany for introducing me to this work and providing me with the technical information about it.
-
-
Femmes au porcs
- (‘Women with Pigs’ from “Les Brettonneries” 1889)
- (1889), zincograph with hand-coloring
- 9.75 x 12.25 in. (24.77 x 31.12 cm.)
- The Indianapolis Museum of Art
-
-
La Gardienne de porcs
- (‘The Guardian of the Pigs,’ also referred to as ‘Swineherd at Pont-Avon’)
- (1888), oil on canvas
- 19 x 25 in. (48.26 x 63.5 cm.)
- Private collection
-
-
The Seasons: Winter
- (1891), paint with adhesive on canvas
- 68.9 x 102.4 in. (175 x 260 cm.)
- Private collection
-
Editor’s Note:
This work was originally a paravent or screen with four symbolic panel images representing ‘The Seasons’ on the front and on the reverse side another painting, ‘The Poor Woodcutters.’
Each of the four panels measured 68.9 x 25.6 in. (175 x 65 cm.). Here is a view of the full set of four panels. The original frame has not been preserved.
-
-
A Rustic Scene
- (1889), zincograph and watercolor
- 11.6 x 8.9 in. (29.4 x 22.5 cm.)
- Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna, Rome
-
La lande à Pont Aven
- [Open lands in Pont Aven]
- (1939), oil on canvas
- 37 x 38.5 in. (94 x 97.7 cm.)
- Private collection
About the Artist
Emile Bernard, French, (1868-1941). Emile Bernard was a celebrated painter, poet and writer on the subject of art. He knew van Gogh and Toulouse-Lautrec, and many Post-impressionist contemporaries of his day. Bernard was a major influence on Gauguin and Anquentin. In Paris and Pont-Avon these three men inspired each other in the development of Cloisonnism, a style using flat areas of colour with bold dark outlines.
In Cloisonnism, Bernard and his pals sought to manipulate space, create patterns in the composition, and choose a symbolic subject that extended beyond the surface appearance of objects. These were the essential elements of the Post-Impressionist school, concentrating on the optical impression of a scene at a particular moment in time.
In later life, Bernard was somewhat left behind as a painter by his friends. He began to concentrate on writing. Bernard published Van Gogh’s letters in 1893, an interview with Cézanne in 1905, and other works concerned with Post-Impressionism.