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The Artist's Grandmother
Emile Bernard (French, 1868–1941)
1887
Medium/Technique
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
60 x 50.5 cm (23 5/8 x 19 7/8 in.)
Credit Line
Francis Welch Fund
Accession Number61.165
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsPaintings
Following the death of her husband in 1887, Bernard’s maternal grandmother, Sophie Albertine Bodin-Lallemant, resided with Bernard and his parents in the Parisian suburb of Asnières, where the young artist—not even twenty—painted her several times. His grandmother was continually supportive of his career as an artist, even having a studio built for him around this time. He renders the dignified matriarch here, seated in three-quarters profile, her maroon dress contrasting with the green chair. With his several portraits of his grandmother, Bernard earned the respect of his colleagues, including Vincent van Gogh who wrote to Bernard after seeing this painting, “You’ve never been closer to Rembrandt, my dear chap.”
InscriptionsUpper right: Emile Bernard / 1887
ProvenanceProbably by descent from the artist to his son-in-law, Clément Altarriba, Paris; 1950, still in Altarriba's possession [see note 1]. November 25, 1959, anonymous sale, Sotheby's, London, lot 53 [see note 2], to E. and A. Silberman Galleries, New York; 1961, sold by Silberman Galleries to the MFA for $7,500. (Accession Date: October 8, 1961)
NOTES:
[1] Lent by him to the exhibition "Eugène Carrière et le Symbolisme," Orangerie des Tuileries, Paris, December, 1949 - January, 1950, cat. no. 213. [2] The painting is said in the auction catalogue to be the property of a gentleman. Whether Mr. Altarriba was this seller has not been determined. A letter from Abris Silberman, Silberman Galleries, to Thomas M. Maytham, MFA (March 10, 1961; in MFA curatorial file) suggests that Dr. E. Cassirer -- one of the sellers at the November 25 auction -- had been the owner of the painting; however, this seems unlikely, as Dr. Cassirer's name is not withheld from the other lots he consigned at this time.
NOTES:
[1] Lent by him to the exhibition "Eugène Carrière et le Symbolisme," Orangerie des Tuileries, Paris, December, 1949 - January, 1950, cat. no. 213. [2] The painting is said in the auction catalogue to be the property of a gentleman. Whether Mr. Altarriba was this seller has not been determined. A letter from Abris Silberman, Silberman Galleries, to Thomas M. Maytham, MFA (March 10, 1961; in MFA curatorial file) suggests that Dr. E. Cassirer -- one of the sellers at the November 25 auction -- had been the owner of the painting; however, this seems unlikely, as Dr. Cassirer's name is not withheld from the other lots he consigned at this time.