Dimensions
31 7/8 x 25 13/16 in.
Location
Jane H. Fortune Gallery
Credit line
Samuel Josefowitz Collection of the School of Pont-Aven, through the generosity of Lilly Endowment Inc., the Josefowitz Family, Mr. and Mrs. James M. Cornelius, Mr. and Mrs. Leonard J. Betley, Lori and Dan Efroymson, and other Friends of the Museum
Accession number
1998.173
Provenance (back to top)
Estate of the artist; to Elizabeth Bernard Atarriba, daughter of the artist, Paris;{1} purchased from her in 1959 by Samuel Josefowitz;{2} acquired as a partial gift, partial purchase by the IMA in 1998 (1998.173).
Gallery Label (back to top)
In this enigmatic scene, four women occupy a stark landscape. The red form looming behind them is probably a mound of seaweed, gathered by the Bretons for fertilizer.
The interlocking shapes bound by dark borders exemplify Cloisonism, a style Bernard developed in the mid-1880s, inspired by the outlines of cloisonné enamel or stained glass.
The canvas may be unfinished, but its emphasis on pure form and pattern approaches the fully abstract work of the next generation.
