Émile Bernard (28 April 1868 – 16 April 1941)

Émile Henri Bernard was born on April 28, 1868 in Lille, France. Located in the north near the Belgian border.

Lille is famous for its textile industry. Lille had many places for Émile to explore, one of his favorite was an art studio that made stained glass windows.

In 1877 Émile attends the College de la Monnaie in Lille and lives with his maternal grandmother, Sophie Bodin-Lallement, who runs a successful laundry business. He is encouraged to draw by his grandmother’s lodger.

The spirited 18 year old decided to study on his own by taking a six month tour of the French countryside - on foot. His plan was to explore the regions of Normandy and Britannic sketching the landscape and painting canvases along the way.

Van Gogh met Bernard in 1886 at the Cormon studio, where they were both studying painting, Bernard was intelligent and very talented young artist at that time. Bernard had completed many paintings by the time he returned to Paris that autumn.

Bernard seems to have had a stimulating effect on his great colleague but thereafter his work as painter declined in importance and he became of interest chiefly for his activities as a writer.
Émile Bernard (28 April 1868 – 16 April 1941)