Émile Bernard

Émile Bernard (1868–1941) was a French avant-garde painter and writer, noted for his pivotal role in the development of Symbolism and Cloisonnism. Born in 1868 in Lille, France, Bernard studied at the École des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. Early in his career, Bernard experimented with Impressionism and Pointillism and worked alongside fellow artists Louis Anquetin and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.

Bernard’s sources of inspiration for this new approach to modern art were indeed varied. Writing the French Symbolist magazine La Revue Indépendante, the art critic Charles Dujardin coined the term Cloisonnisme to describe Bernard’s style — a reference to the medieval craft of stained glass, inserted into a compositional framework of thick metal. The flat planes of colour in Japanese woodcuts were also important to Bernard’s practice. He had studied these examples of these prints in the Parisian shop of the famed dealer, Père Tanguy, in 1887, together with his friend and colleague Vincent van Gogh.

In the late 1880s, Bernard developed a fascination with the rural landscape of Brittany in northwestern France. Radical simplification was Bernard’s guiding principle in this pivotal phase of his career. In 1888 he met Paul Gauguin in Pont-Aven and the artists spent several weeks collaborating, observing the deep piety and distinctive folk traditions of the region. Together, Bernard and Gauguin also explored a ‘synthetist’ style of painting, which Gauguin described as a ‘synthesis of a form and a colour’. Bernard’s enduring interest in rural Breton subjects was captured in his work from this period and beyond. In 2022 Christie’s sold his 1892 work Bretonnerie (Bretonnes dans une prairie) for US$3,420,000 — an auction record for Bernard.

Bernard was also a prolific writer, contributing essays and critiques on art and aesthetics. His writings provide a valuable perspective on the artistic debates of his time, particularly regarding the Symbolist movement and his contemporaries.


EMILE BERNARD (1868-1941)

Bretonnerie (Bretonnes dans une prairie)

Émile Bernard (1868-1941)

Baigneuses aux nénuphars

Émile Bernard (1868-1941)

Autoportrait au tableau "Baigneuses à la vache rouge" ou Autoportrait aux nus

Émile Bernard (1868-1941)

Nature morte aux carafe, verres, fruits, pot d'etain sur une nappe

Émile Bernard (1868-1941)

Vue du port de Vathy, Samos

Émile Bernard (1868-1941)

Nature morte (pichet, assiette, fruits sur serviette déployée)

Emile Bernard (1868-1941)

Les cueilleuses de pommes

Emile Bernard (1868-1941)

Vincent van Gogh se rendant au motif à Asnières

Emile Bernard (1868-1941)

Nature morte (Vase de fleurs, pichet et verre)

Émile Bernard (1868-1941)

Concert champêtre ou Fête champêtre ( reco ); Études de personnages ( verso )

Emile Bernard (1868-1941)

La campagne à Pont-Aven

Emile Bernard (1868-1941)

Femmes nues sur fonds bleus

Émile Bernard (1868-1941)

Nature morte (carafe, verre, fruits, assiettes, tasse et cafetière)

Émile Bernard (1868-1941)

Conversation dans le parc

Émile Bernard (1868-1941)

Bouquet de lilas

Émile Bernard (1868-1941)

Guerrier et amazone

Émile Bernard (1868-1941)

Nature morte aux fruits

Émile Bernard (1868-1941)

Nature morte (assiette et fruits)

Émile Bernard (1868-1941)

Nature morte au vase de fleurs

Émile Bernard (1868-1941)

Scène champêtre

Émile Bernard (1868-1941)

Les Bords du Nil

ÉMILE BERNARD (1868-1941)

Vue de tonnerre ou Le moulin d'enfer

Emile Bernard (1868-1941)

Nature morte aux pichet et oignons

Emile Bernard (1868-1941)

Maison à molosmes avec gallinacés

Emile Bernard (1868-1941)

Nature morte aux oignons

Émile Bernard (1868-1941)

Adoration des bergers

Émile Bernard (1868-1941)

Baigneuses sur la plage

Émile Bernard (1868-1941)

Paysage près de Limoux avec un vieux pont

Emile Bernard (1868-1941)

Portrait de femme

Émile Bernard (1868-1941)

Nature morte aux figues et soleils

Emile Bernard (French, 1868-1941)

La descente sur Molosmes

Émile Bernard (1868-1941)

Portrait d'Aude

Émile Bernard (1868-1941)

Ma chambre à Tonnerre

Émile Bernard (1868-1941)

La Cueillette des pommes

Emile Bernard (French, 1868-1941)

Paysage près de Villeneuve-lès-Avignon

Émile Bernard (1868-1941)

La Conversation

Emile Bernard (French, 1868-1941)

La route de Molosmes

Emile Bernard (French, 1868-1941)

Au Château de Tanlay

Émile Bernard (1868-1941)

Paysage ( recto ; verso )