In Woman and Haystacks, Brittany, probably
painted in 1888 during a summer trip to Pont-Aven, the young Emile Bernard
(1868-1941) manipulated space, created patterns in the composition, and
chose a symbolic subject that extended beyond the surface appearance of
objects. These are the essential elements of the Post-Impressionist
school, a reaction against the preceding Impressionists, who concentrated
on the optical impression of a scene at a particular moment in time.
Within the larger Post-Impressionist movement, the Pont-Aven school of
painting, perhaps originated by Bernard himself and practiced by Paul
Gauguin among others, sought out the traditional Bretons as subjects
because they represented pastoral purity and a culture uncorrupted by
modern society. The Pont-Aven artists were attracted to the Breton version
of faith, a pious and simple form of Catholicism in which God could be
perceived in everyday life. It is
said that Bernard visited this remote countryside for inspiration in order
to escape from his critical father and the materialist Parisian art world.
In the Ackland painting, his portrayal of a Breton woman in traditional
costume juxtaposed with the cultivated landscape conveys his belief that
she is closer to God and nature than industrialized peoples.
Bernard's flattened, simplified objects
reflect his view of the purity and simplicity of Breton life. He turned to
two sources to achieve these effects in Woman and Haystacks. The
thick outlines defining areas of color were influenced by medieval
stained glass and enamels. Called Cloisonism, Bernard's application of
medieval style expressed his hope that his paintings, like icons, would
provide religious meaning accessible to the masses. In addition to
medieval art, Bernard synthesized another art from from a pre-industrial
society into his personal style: Japanese prints. As in these prints, the
natural forms depicted in Woman and Haystacks are distorted into
flat shapes of color that create a shallow, tilted space.
After his Breton years,
Bernard continued to study Catholicism and its worshipers. Ultimately, he
sought the cradle of Christianity by traveling to the Middle East. In
addition to his Pont-Aven paintings, for which he is best known, he is
remembered for his memories of Pont-Aven, "The Adventures of My Life," and
for his
correspondence with his close friend, Vincent Van Gogh.
