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Lot Essay
Emile Bernard befriended Vincent van Gogh in 1886, and it was on the Dutch artist's suggestion that Bernard went to work with Paul Gauguin in the Breton town of Pont-Aven in 1888. They hoped to form a utopian artistic community that embraced the primitive culture of the Breton tradition, an alternative lifestyle far removed from the urban influence of secular, industrialized, modern Parisian life.
Bernard was fascinated with the lush tonalities of the Pont-Aven landscape. This is evident in Vue de Pont-Aven which relates to a group of works painted during the last stage of Bernard's stay in Pont-Aven, just before his departure to the Near-East in 1893. This painting also demonstrates Bernard's keen interest in Czanne's brushstrokes. Bernard admired and collected Czanne's work in the 1890s. In a letter to Andries Bonger in 1891, Bernard confirmed his affinity to Czanne by writing, "Everyone surely recognizes a master and tries to adapt himself as much as possible- for me, that is Czanne." (Emile Bernard 1868-1941: A Pioneer of Modern Art, exh. cat., op.cit.i p. 139).
Bernard was fascinated with the lush tonalities of the Pont-Aven landscape. This is evident in Vue de Pont-Aven which relates to a group of works painted during the last stage of Bernard's stay in Pont-Aven, just before his departure to the Near-East in 1893. This painting also demonstrates Bernard's keen interest in Czanne's brushstrokes. Bernard admired and collected Czanne's work in the 1890s. In a letter to Andries Bonger in 1891, Bernard confirmed his affinity to Czanne by writing, "Everyone surely recognizes a master and tries to adapt himself as much as possible- for me, that is Czanne." (Emile Bernard 1868-1941: A Pioneer of Modern Art, exh. cat., op.cit.i p. 139).