The Singer

1887–88

Not on view

Many French artists toward the end of the nineteenth century depicted the performers in cafés and cabarets, and also women in brothels—Toulouse-Lautrec's superb series "Elles" being one of the best-known examples of the latter. In Bernard's image of a singer at one of the outdoor cafés that became the focal points of public life in Paris during the warm months, the artist has created visually the impact of her large, brassy voice through the woman's foursquare stance. Bernard originally drew the singer with arms down, somewhat apart from the body, but then changed their position to an upraised one. This is the solution he eventually opted for, but in this early state of the print, we see the composition still in development.

Artwork Details

Title: The Singer
Artist: Emile Bernard (French, Lille 1868–1941 Paris)
Date: 1887–88
Medium: Lithograph
Dimensions: Sheet: 12 11/16 × 9 9/16 in. (32.3 × 24.3 cm)
Image: 11 5/8 × 9 1/8 in. (29.5 × 23.2 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1975
Object Number: 1975.507
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

By Emile Bernard

In the same medium

From the same time and place

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The Little Flowers of St. Francis, Emile Bernard French, Woodcut, black and brown ink — The Little Flowers of St. Francis
Multiple artists/makers
1928

Crucifixion, also called Christ, from "L'Estampe Originale", Emile Bernard French, Woodcut — Crucifixion, also called Christ, from "L'Estampe Originale"
Emile Bernard
January–March 1894

Mont Sainte-Victoire, Emile Bernard French, Watercolor on heavy wove paper — Mont Sainte-Victoire
Emile Bernard
Paul Cézanne
1936

Death of the Horseman or Brandemart Crying (Roland Furieux), Emile Bernard French, Hand-colored zincograph — Death of the Horseman or Brandemart Crying (Roland Furieux)
Emile Bernard
1892

The Old Woman from Berkeley, from "Les Cantilènes", Emile Bernard French, Hand-colored zincograph — The Old Woman from Berkeley, from "Les Cantilènes"
Emile Bernard
1892

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