Cleveland Museum of Art

The Nymphs

Émile Bernard

Date

1890

Medium

Woodcut, hand-colored with watercolor

Culture

France, 19th century

Department

Prints

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Before he had reached age 20, the precocious Bernard worked alongside Paul Gauguin and engaged in a lively correspondence with Vincent van Gogh. Toward the end of 1889, Van Gogh observed a shift in the young artist’s work and noted in a letter to his sister, “Bernard is trying to do elegant, modern figures in the manner of ancient Greek and Egyptian art.” The elongated, seemingly weightless forms in The Nymphs reflect Bernard’s stylistic evolution. This vividly hand-colored woodcut is one of only three known impressions of this print.

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