The Van Gogh Museum is exhibiting a special group of 27 drawings by Emile Bernard, one of Vincent van Gogh's closest friends, for the first time. The drawings will be on display from today until 12 January 2025 in a small-scale exhibition on the second floor of the permanent collection.
This presentation stems from new scholarly research into the art Vincent and his brother Theo collected from their contemporaries. Bernard sent the drawings to Van Gogh in 1888. The drawings were the visual accompaniment to the artistic exchange that unfolded in the friends’ correspondence, and were intended for Vincent’s eyes only. They offer a unique insight into the artists’ widely discussed friendship.
Emile Bernard, Breton Woman with a Parasol, 1888
Friendship
Van Gogh (1853-1890) and the fifteen-year-younger Bernard (1868-1941) met each other in Paris in 1886: first in Fernand Cormon’s studio where they were both students, and later in Julien (père) Tanguy’s small paint supplies shop. After this second encounter, the two artists became good friends. Bernard and Van Gogh discussed modern painting constantly; after Van Gogh’s departure, their discussions continued by letter.
‘(…) actually I like everything that you do, as you know – and perhaps nobody before me has liked what you do as much as I do’. Vincent van Gogh to Emile Bernard, c. 5 October 1888 [698]
