May 11, 2026
The conservation treatment of Pont-Aven Seen from the Bois d'Amour (1892), an important Post-Impressionist painting by Emile Bernard, was completed in early April. You can see this newly conserved painting, on view for the first time in nearly a decade, starting May 19, 2026 at the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields (Floor 2, Sidney and Kathy Taurel Gallery, H206).
Bernard was a Post-Impressionist painter and a friend of Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, and Paul Cezanne. The painting depicts the northern French town of Pont-Aven in Brittany, after which the Pont-Aven School of painters was named. The site of the painting is still identifiable today, albeit with a much larger tree than the one you see in the foreground of Bernard’s canvas. Today, the Musée de Pont-Aven is even housed in one of the buildings pictured in the background of the painting.
The painting, dated 1892, came into the IMA collection in 1998 but had not received conservation treatment since its acquisition. It had a substantial build-up of dirt and a patchy yellow varnish across the surface.
Microscope detail of patchy yellow coating identified as a natural resin (dammar) varnish.
To tackle this challenge, collaboration was key. I worked with Dr. Jeff Fieberg, John Walkup, Professor of Chemistry at Centre College, and Dr. Tina Masciangioli, Project MUSE Scholar in Conservation Science at Newfields, to better understand the artist’s materials and intentions for the work in order to make decisions about the treatment.
Dr. Tina Masciangioli analyzing a sample under the microscope.
For instance we learned that Bernard, like other Post-Impressionist artists, preferred a matte, unvarnished surface to his paintings. Therefore, the decision was made to remove the aged, yellow varnish. To learn more about our process, you can watch us discuss the treatment and the science behind it.
On the back of the canvas is an intriguing area where a few seemingly random strokes of paint are present. Spectroscopic analysis by the IMA science team found that the pigments (ultramarine blue, emerald green, and chrome yellow) used on the back of the canvas were also used to paint the final composition on the front, suggesting the strokes were likely by Bernard himself. It is possible that Bernard began a different composition before turning the canvas around and painting the final image. Equally, he may have used the back of the canvas to test the color combinations he planned to use on the front.
Detail of the back of the painting showing swatches of color.
This treatment provided an exciting opportunity to re-evaluate a work that has been in our collection for almost thirty years. We had the ability to work collaboratively to clearly determine the artist’s materials, establish that Bernard would not have wanted this painting varnished, and devise a treatment plan that safely removed the aged varnish without applying a new one. The subtle play of matte and gloss intrigued Post-Impressionist painters like Bernard, and our visitors can now appreciate this effect as well. Further, seeing the location of the painting today brings to life the magnificent way in which Bernard interpreted his surroundings, giving us an even better appreciation for this great artist’s vision, process, and skill.
