Joseph-Antoine Bernard (1866-1931) - Lot 161

Joseph-Antoine Bernard (1866-1931) Purity Model created around 1910 Bronze with brown patina Signed "J Bernard" and inscribed "N 3" on the back H. 24 cm, resting on a wooden base H. 5 cm This bronze head of a young woman with graceful features and natural hair is a study for the pink marble bust he entitled Pureté or Buste de jeune fille. This head belongs to the series of "interior faces" defined in Joseph Bernard's work by René Jullian, although it lacks the neoclassical canon of simplified, almost abstract forms that characterize some of his works, such as Sérénité, Plénitude or Rieuse. Rather, it can be likened to La Jeune fille au bandeau, with which it shares a strong sense of interiority, through its calm face with imprecise features and half-closed eyes. In this sense, she is particularly representative of Joseph Bernard's unique art, which aspires "to flush out the essence of things" (René Julian). Some of these female heads bear specific titles reflecting states of mind and personifying feelings. Here, purity is embodied by a youthful face of elegant finesse, underlining a high state of candor and innocence. Not surprisingly, this quest for Purity led to the execution of a very similar work a few years later, entitled La Prière (circa 1913, Granit de Bretagne, direct cut, signed, H.52 cm). Beyond the search for form so dear to Joseph Bernard, this head bears witness to his quest for the ineffable through a harmonious accord between the form itself and the expression of feelings. An edition of eight bronze proofs was produced after 1910, but its publisher is unknown. This copy, bearing no. 3, was listed in a Versailles collection in René Jullian's 1989 catalog.