Self-portrait

Émile Bernard prints bring the bold outlines, flat colour and Breton landscapes of the Pont-Aven school into your home. Bernard was a French Post-Impressionist painter and writer, a friend of Van Gogh, Gauguin and Cézanne, who helped invent the styles known as Cloisonnism and Synthetism. Our collection of fine art prints covers his Breton scenes, portraits, still lifes and his illustrated books.

About Émile Bernard

Émile Henri Bernard was born in Lille on 28 April 1868. As a boy he spent much time with his grandmother, who ran a large laundry in Lille and was one of the greatest supporters of his art. The family moved to Paris in 1878. He studied at the École des Arts Décoratifs and from 1884 at the Atelier Cormon, where he experimented with Impressionism and Pointillism and befriended Louis Anquetin and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Suspended for "expressive tendencies", he toured Brittany on foot and fell in love with its traditions and landscape.

In 1886 he met Paul Gauguin at Pont-Aven. In 1887 he met Vincent van Gogh in Paris and exhibited with him, Anquetin and Toulouse-Lautrec in a restaurant on the Avenue de Clichy; Van Gogh called them the School of the Petit-Boulevard. With Anquetin he developed Cloisonnism, a style of bold shapes enclosed by dark outlines, and in 1888 he worked closely with Gauguin in Pont-Aven.

From 1893 he travelled to Egypt, Spain and Italy, and his style became more eclectic. He wrote plays, poetry and art criticism, and was instrumental in cementing Paul Cézanne's legacy. He later taught at the École des Beaux-Arts, and died in Paris on 16 April 1941.

Style and Subjects

Bernard's most important work dates from 1886 to 1897. He painted Breton women in their white caps, harvests, river scenes and landscapes with flat areas of bright colour enclosed by strong dark contours, like the lead lines in stained glass. Shapes are simplified and almost decorative.

Later his style changed, drawing on the old masters he studied in Italy and Spain, and he became a prolific book illustrator, creating woodcuts and etchings for editions of Villon, Baudelaire and others.

Famous Works

• The Artist's Grandmother (1887), Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. A strong, simple portrait of the grandmother who supported him.
• Portrait of Père Tanguy (1887), Kunstmuseum Basel. The Paris colour merchant, painted in his Cloisonnist years.
• Madeleine in the Bois d'Amour (1888), Musée d'Orsay, Paris. His sister lying in the woods at Pont-Aven.
• Self-Portrait with Portrait of Gauguin (1888), Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam. A self-portrait that includes a portrait of his friend Gauguin.
• Bathers with Red Cow (1889), Musée d'Orsay, Paris. Bathers by a river in bold, flat colour.
• Breton Women with Umbrellas (1892), Musée d'Orsay, Paris. Breton women in white caps beneath dark umbrellas.
• Breton Women at a Wall (1892). A frieze-like group of women in Breton dress.

Decorating with Bernard Prints

Bernard's Breton scenes, like Breton Girl with a Red Umbrella, bring bold colour and simple shapes to a living room, hallway or study, and suit both modern and French country interiors.

His Pont-Aven landscapes are calm choices for a bedroom, and his book illustrations, such as Les Fleurs du mal, make a striking black-and-white group for a library.

FAQ

Who was Émile Bernard?

Émile Bernard (1868–1941) was a French Post-Impressionist painter and writer, a friend of Van Gogh, Gauguin and Cézanne and a key figure of the Pont-Aven school.

What is Cloisonnism?

Cloisonnism is a style of painting with bold, flat shapes separated by dark outlines, like cloisonné enamel or stained glass. Bernard developed it with Louis Anquetin around 1887.

What was Bernard's relationship with Gauguin and Van Gogh?

He met Gauguin in Pont-Aven in 1886 and worked closely with him in 1888, and he was a close friend and correspondent of Van Gogh, exhibiting with him in Paris in 1887.

Where can I see Émile Bernard's paintings?

The Musée d'Orsay holds many of his key works. Others are in the Van Gogh Museum, the Kunstmuseum Basel, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum.

Related Artists

• Paul Gauguin: worked with him at Pont-Aven
• Vincent van Gogh: close friend and correspondent
• Louis Anquetin: fellow inventor of Cloisonnism
• Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: friend from the Atelier Cormon
• Paul Sérusier: fellow Pont-Aven painter