Vase with Flowers and Cup

Vase with Flowers and Cup (1887) by Émile Bernard, now in the collection of Van Gogh Museum, demonstrates the artist's skill in the still life genre, transforming everyday objects or natural specimens into studies of color, light, and painterly observation. Émile Bernard played a crucial but contested role in the Post-Impressionist revolution. His development of Cloisonnism at Pont-Aven and his close dialogue with both Gauguin and Van Gogh place him at the intersection of multiple avant-garde developments, yet he later claimed greater credit for the Synthetist movement than most historians allow.

Bernard developed Cloisonnism — flat areas of strong color enclosed within dark outlines, inspired by medieval enamelwork and Japanese woodblock prints. His palette is bold and non-naturalistic, and his handling of paint is flat and summary.