Marble
University of Notre Dame
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Street Scene: Two Women Seated Selling Bread

Date

ca. 1895

Creator

Émile Bernard

Location

Raclin Murphy Museum of Art

Bernard’s tonal drawing depicts a street scene in Cairo. The composition flows in a diagonal direction, from the seated bread sellers in the lower left to the archway and mounted figure in the center right. The female vendors, draped in hijabs and heavy robes, dominate the scene. This illustration of daily life is part of the many images Bernard made during his time in Cairo in the 1890s. His scene differs from the many colorful Orientalist paintings by other nineteenth-century French artists. Rather than using vibrant hues to depict his subjects, Bernard employs the technique of cloisonnism—heavy black ink outlines of his figures’ simplified forms. Signed "Emile Bernard" in the lower left. written by Emma Lyandres, St. Andrews University, Scotland, 2022

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Bernard’s tonal drawing depicts a street scene in Cairo. The composition flows in a diagonal direction, from the seated bread sellers in the lower left to the archway and mounted figure in the center right. The female vendors, draped in hijabs and heavy robes, dominate the scene. This illustration of daily life is part of the many images Bernard made during his time in Cairo in the 1890s. His scene differs from the many colorful Orientalist paintings by other nineteenth-century French artists. Rather than using vibrant hues to depict his subjects, Bernard employs the technique of cloisonnism—heavy black ink outlines of his figures’ simplified forms. Signed "Emile Bernard" in the lower left. written by Emma Lyandres, St. Andrews University, Scotland, 2022
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  • Bernard’s tonal drawing depicts a street scene in Cairo. The composition flows in a diagonal direction, from the seated bread sellers in the lower left to the archway and mounted figure in the center right. The female vendors, draped in hijabs and heavy robes, dominate the scene. This illustration of daily life is part of the many images Bernard made during his time in Cairo in the 1890s. His scene differs from the many colorful Orientalist paintings by other nineteenth-century French artists. Rather than using vibrant hues to depict his subjects, Bernard employs the technique of cloisonnism—heavy black ink outlines of his figures’ simplified forms. Signed "Emile Bernard" in the lower left. written by Emma Lyandres, St. Andrews University, Scotland, 2022
  • Bernard’s tonal drawing depicts a street scene in Cairo. The composition flows in a diagonal direction, from the seated bread sellers in the lower left to the archway and mounted figure in the center right. The female vendors, draped in hijabs and heavy robes, dominate the scene. This illustration of daily life is part of the many images Bernard made during his time in Cairo in the 1890s. His scene differs from the many colorful Orientalist paintings by other nineteenth-century French artists. Rather than using vibrant hues to depict his subjects, Bernard employs the technique of cloisonnism—heavy black ink outlines of his figures’ simplified forms. Signed "Emile Bernard" in the lower left. written by Emma Lyandres, St. Andrews University, Scotland, 2022
Émile Bernard (French, 1868 - 1941)
ca. 1895
Drawings
Black ink and wash on brown wove paper
2009.045.012
Arabian
Orientalism
women
Not on view, please request access
10 3/8 x 13 in. (26.35 x 33.02 cm)
The Muriel S. and Noah L. Butkin Collection

Our collection information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. If you have spotted an error, please contact Raclin Murphy Museum of Art at RMMACollections@nd.edu.