Émile Bernard

Jacques Normand, Paris
Mme Delanoue-Baril, Paris
Ansley Graham, Los Angeles
Sale: Christie's, New York, May 17, 1984, lot 319
Acquired at the above sale

Jean-Jacques Luthi, Émile Bernard, Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint, Paris, 1982, no. 87, illustrated p. 19

The canvas has been relined. There is stable fine craquelure scattered throughout the composition, as visible in the catalogue illustration. There is frame abrasion and some paint thinning around the four edges. When examined under UV light there is no evidence of any restoration, a thick varnish impedes further reading. The surface is clean. The painting is in good condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Painted circa 1887, Nature morte aux pommes et aux pots bretons is a striking composition from the artist's early oeuvre. Bernard's most notable compositions date from this early period in his career, when he worked alongside other leading members of the late nineteenth-century art world including Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin and Eugène Boch. The present work was painted when he was living in the Pont-Aven, just a year after he first met Gauguin, and is typical of the early Nabis aesthetic, with traditional hand-painted Breton pottery incorporated into a still-life composition rendered in a luminous palette blues, yellows and reds.