Breton Women at a Wall

Breton Women at a Wall

Artist	Émile Bernard
Year	1892
Type	Oil on cardboard
Dimensions	83.50 cm × 116 cm (32.875 in × 45.5 in)
Location	Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis

Breton Women at a Wall is an oil painting by Émile Bernard. It is part of the permanent collection of the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

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Description

Bernard most likely painted this painting from memory, modeled after a trip he took with Paul Gauguin in 1888 to Brittany. The painting has five Breton women and one man gathering around a wall. Their faces are pointed down toward the cobblestone wall. Their heads are covered in traditional Pont-Aven coiffes and they are in traditional Brittany wear. The painting is proliferated with bright cobalts, yellows, greens, and reds, and is chosen for effect, rather than accuracy in representation. The women all have slight facial features, but they are indistinguishable. Bernard uses harsh, graphic outlines to help define the features of the women's outfits and faces. The man is dressed in all green, and facing the rest of the women. The characters are boldly flat, recalling Bernard's love of Japanese prints. The placement of the figures shows Bernard's disregard for traditional rules, including scale or perspective.^[1]

Historical information

A young Bernard, together with Gauguin, took a trip to Pont-Aven, a remote location in France, and began creating a new, postimpressionist style of painting that defined the Pont-Aven School and Cloisonnism during the summer of 1888. Along with Gauguin, Bernard cherished Brittany and the Breton people, and Breton Women at a Wall reflects his fascination with their customs, which, in contemporary French society, was often seen as a way to get back to the past. Bernard would draw on his experiences in Brittany throughout his life.

Acquisition

The painting went through many private hands between 1893 and 1959, before landing in the hands of Swiss art collector Samuel Josefowitz.^[2] In 1998, the Indianapolis Museum of Art purchased the painting, along with 30 Gauguins, as a partial gift from Josefowitz.^[3]

References

^ "Catalog Entry on Women at a Wall". Indianapolis Museum of Art. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
^ "Provenance Entry for Women at a Wall". Indianapolis Museum of Art. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
^ Dobrzynski, Judith H. (18 November 1998). "Indianapolis Museum Buys 30 Gauguins". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 May 2012.

Indianapolis Museum of Art (Newfields)

Significant
artworks at the
Indianapolis
Museum of Art

African art	Face mask Senufo female ancestor figure Magbo helmet mask for Oro society Palace plaque depicting warrior Guardian figure Healing of Abiku Children
American painting and sculpture to 1945	Afternoon Tea Cliff Rock - Appledore Dorothy Hotel Lobby Hurricane Jimson Weed Morning at Grand Manan Preparing for the Matinee Red Kimono on the Roof Reflections Sunlight The Boat Builders The Flight of Europa The Love Song The Rainbow Tidying Up U.S.A. Untitled (The Birth)
Asian art	Bowl with two violet spots Cong-shaped vase Covered jar with carp design Fine Wind, Clear Morning Ksitigarbha bodhisattva Ritual wine server Shigaraki ware storage jar Vase with carved peony scrolls Vase with nine peach design
Contemporary art	Acton Courre Merlan Egyptian Barnyard <i>LOVE</i> painting LOVE (sculpture) The Quintet of the Silent They Waz Nice White Folks While They Lasted (Sez One Gal to Another) Untitled Landfield Untitled Judd Untitled Irwin
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European painting and sculpture to 1945	Aristotle Battle Between Carnival and Lent Breton Women at a Wall Broek in Waterland Charing Cross Bridge Crucifix Crucifixion Enclosed Field with Peasant Entry of Christ into Jerusalem Entry of Christ into Jerusalem House in Provence Landscape near Arles Ma Jolie Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist and St. Mary Magdalene Man and Woman Peasant with a Wheelbarrow Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well Roman Capriccio: The Pantheon and Other Monuments Saint Luke Self-Portrait Rembrandt Still Life with a Chinese Porcelain Jar Still Life with Profile of Laval The Banks of the Oise near Pontoise The Boy The Channel of Gravelines, Petit Fort Philippe The Country Dance The Crucifixion Cranach The Fifth Plague of Egypt The Flageolet Player on the Cliff The Flight into Egypt The Holy Family with Saint John the Baptist The House of the Deaf Woman and the Belfry at Eragny The Negress The Seamstress The Triumphant Entry of Constantine into Rome The Two Sisters The Valkhof at Nijmegen Triptych of the Annunciation Vorhor, the Green Wave
Art of the Americas	Haida ceremonial dance rattle
Oceanic art	Helmet mask (Tatanua)
Prints, drawings, and photographs	Blasting St. Vincent's Rock, Clifton Boreas and Oreithyia Galinthias Outwits Eileithyia by Announcing the Birth of Heracles Mother (Mutter) Moulin Rouge: La Goulue The Holy Family with the Dragonfly Young Woman in Blue
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artworks

Leadership

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