The son of a stonemason, Joseph Bernard knew how to work with stone and marble at a very young age. He received a classical education at the École des Beaux-Arts in Lyon and then in Paris, where he settled in 1887, neglecting teaching somewhat, working in a printing shop by night and sculpting by day. He admired Rodin, as evidenced by his early work, but did not work for him. He devoted himself for a time to sculptures in clay: L'Espoir vaincu in 1891, Le Fardeau de la vie, Monument à la Paix of which only fragments remain. His first public commission was the monument to Michel Servet for his native city of Vienna, created between 1905 and 1911. This was a very productive period in which he created figures of young girls modeled in plaster and then polished like stone. He created highly stylized, smooth, synthetically modeled statues. In 1913, he sculpted a marble bas-relief, one of his masterpieces: The Dance Frieze, but he was struck by a stroke that left him hemiplegic and slowed down his activity. He did not resume drawing until 1917 and sculpting in 1918. In 1921 he moved to Boulogne-sur-Seine in the studio he owned in the garden of his house. He was present in 1925 at the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts in the pavilion of Ruklmann, a close friend, with numerous works in bronze, as well as an enlarged version of The Dance Frieze. He was commissioned by the state, and in his later years devoted himself to drawing and watercolor.
Some auction results will give you a brief indication of the value of the sculptures of the artist Joseph Bernard.
The sculptures are often of young women. Some of the most popular subjects are draped young women, a water carrier or a young woman and her child.
The estimate range for Joseph Bernard is quite wide, from 6,000 to over 30,000 euros.

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LOT n°55 Adjugé : 160 EUR Joseph BERNARD (1864-1933) Joseph BERNARD (1864-1933) - Livre comprenant 68 reproductions de G. Van Oest, dédicacé à son frère et deux aqaurelles (23 x 23 cm) "Homme et femme " - "Femme couchée"    Fiche détaillée