Issues to
consider
Since Emile Bernard's work was so influenced by Japanese and
Medieval sources, you may want to compare this painting with a Japanese
print or an example of Medieval stained glass. While doing this, you
should try to
discern just what Bernard culled from these sources, what originated in
the artistic style of his day and what was created from the fusion of the
two. You may also want to compare Woman and Haystacks with
comtemporary artists also influenced by Medievalism, but who executed
their ideas in a different manner, for instance Dante Gabriel Rossetti
and his Nativity.
Another issue to think about is how artists represent spirituality in
different ways. First you could think about how spirituality is expressed
in art. Is there a common visual language in religious art? You could
compare
how Emile Bernard portrayed the spirituality of his
subject and how other artists portrayed spirituality, for instance Johann
Boeckhorst's The
Triumphant Christ, 1660. Do you think that the differences
could be a result of the religious practice of the artists's
time and culture, or the personal beliefs of the artists? What about the
artists' training? You could also consider the differences
in the artistic practices of the two periods.
You might want to think about this work in relation to how spirituality
is represented in today's art or culture.
Emile Bernard has portrayed Brittany in what is considered a spiritual
manner. You may want
to look at other depictions of the Breton culture that are in a more
realistic style, for instance
Jules Breton's Evening in the
Hamlet of Finistére, 1882. You could compare the
different style that each artist uses to depict the same subject.
Both of these artists are French, but Bernard was a Parisian while Breton
was a native
of Brittany. Does this information affect your comparison of the two
artists? You may want to look at the issue of artists depicting or
interpreting cultures foreign to their own. Do you see dangers in this
practice? If so, what are they? In exploring this subject you could look
at other artists that have either depicted a foreign culture, or artists
who have appropriated imagery from a foriegn culture. An example of the
former would be Paul Gauguin and the Tahitian culture. One of the most
famous examples of the latter is Pablo Picasso's usage of images and forms from the
"Primitive" arts of Africa and the South Pacific.
Bibliography
Emile Bernard:
Letters to Emile Bernard by Vincent van Gogh (New York: Museum
of Modern Art, 1938.) Art: ND653 .G7 A247
Emile Bernard, 1868-1941 : a pioneer of modern art exhibition
catalogue by MaryAnne Stevens (Waanders Publishers, c1990.) Art:
N6853.B386 A4 1990.
by Herschel B. Chipp (University of California Press, 1968) pp.
129-145. Art Reserve:N6450/.C62
History of Modern Art by
H.H. Arnason (Prentice Hall, 1986) pp. 99-107. Art Reserve:
N6490/.A713/1986b