Self-portrait, Émile Bernard, 1897
oil on canvas, h 52cm × w 42cm More details
‘A nos amis de Hollande’ (to our friends in Holland) Bernard wrote at the upper left. He meant the family of Andries Bonger, to whom he gave this self-portrait. Bernard belonged to the Nabis, the group of artists around Paul Gauguin, and was friends with Vincent van Gogh and Jan Verkade. He painted his self-portrait in the style called Synthetism or Cloisonnism, featuring simple, clearly delineated shapes and a limited range of colours.
