Brief aan Héloïse Bernard-Bodin 1878 - 1941

This letter by Emile Bernard is painted on paper and was written around 1896. It's awash with all-over gestural marks—these tight lines of text which layer up to form a dense surface. The color palette is muted, mainly browns and creams. I imagine Bernard writing with his pen flowing and shifting across the page, as the artwork emerges through trial, error, and intuition. What was it like for him to create this? What was he thinking when he made it? It’s impossible to know for sure. The density of the writing creates a unique texture, shaping our experience of the letter and contributing to the emotional and intellectual resonances of the work. I wonder if that particular gesture of looping his letters communicates his feelings and intentions? Artists are in an ongoing conversation, inspiring one another’s creativity. This letter embraces ambiguity, allowing for multiple interpretations.