AMSTERDAM.- The Van Gogh Museum is exhibiting a special group of 27 drawings by Emile Bernard, one of Vincent van Gogh's closest friends, for the first time. The drawings will be on display from today until 12 January 2025 in a small-scale exhibition on the second floor of the permanent collection.

This presentation stems from new scholarly research into the art Vincent and his brother Theo collected from their contemporaries. Bernard sent the drawings to Van Gogh in 1888. The drawings were the visual accompaniment to the artistic exchange that unfolded in the friends’ correspondence, and were intended for Vincent’s eyes only. They offer a unique insight into the artists’ widely discussed friendship.

Friendship

Van Gogh (1853-1890) and the fifteen-year-younger Bernard (1868-1941) met each other in Paris in 1886: first in Fernand Cormon’s studio where they were both students, and later in Julien (père) Tanguy’s small paint supplies shop. After this second encounter, the two artists became good friends. Bernard and Van Gogh discussed modern painting constantly; after Van Gogh’s departure, their discussions continued by letter.

‘(…) actually I like everything that you do, as you know – and perhaps nobody before me has liked what you do as much as I do’. Vincent van Gogh to Emile Bernard, c. 5 October 1888 [698]

Prostitution

Seventeen of the twenty-seven drawings that Bernard sent to Van Gogh depict prostitution. They explore Parisian prostitution as a subject for a modern art that presented every aspect of urban life, including the rough undertones. One of these drawings is Brothel Scene (1888), in which Bernard depicted a prostitute seducing a client at a brothel, while the owner of the establishment (the madam) looks on approvingly.

The other drawings show a range of subjects, such as peasant life in Brittany and recreation in Asnières, a Parisian suburb. A few drawings are of Biblical scenes. The drawings are made in smooth, quick ink lines, accentuated with watercolour. These are fine demonstrations of Bernard’s flexibility as an artist.

Émile Bernard (1868–1941) was a French painter, writer, and art theorist who played a pivotal role in the development of modern art, particularly in the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements. Born in Lille, Bernard showed early promise as an artist, studying at the prestigious École des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. He became closely associated with other avant-garde artists of his time, including Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.

In the late 1880s, Bernard moved away from Impressionism, seeking to explore new styles that would express deeper symbolic meanings. He is perhaps best known for co-founding the Cloisonnism style, a technique characterized by bold, flat areas of color outlined by dark contours. This approach broke with the naturalism of Impressionism and laid the groundwork for Symbolism in art. Bernard's 1888 painting Breton Women in a Meadow is a notable example of his use of flattened forms and vibrant colors.

His relationship with Paul Gauguin was particularly influential. The two artists exchanged ideas that would come to define both of their careers, with Bernard often seen as a forerunner of many of Gauguin’s later stylistic innovations. However, their friendship soured over disputes about originality, as both men claimed credit for key developments in Symbolism and Synthetism.

Bernard also maintained a lifelong correspondence with Vincent van Gogh, and his writings provide valuable insights into the artist’s thoughts and struggles. Despite his significant contributions, Bernard's career was overshadowed by those of his more famous contemporaries. Nonetheless, his work is now recognized as essential to the evolution of modern art, influencing later movements like Fauvism and Cubism. He remained a prolific painter and writer until his death in 1941.