Pictorial initial (page 154) from Les Petites Fleurs de St. François (The Little Flowers of St. Francis)
Émile Bernard
French, 1868–1941
1928
A printed book page featuring a woodcut pictorial initial by Émile Bernard, made to mark and illustrate a chapter of Les Petites Fleurs de Saint François by fusing image and letterform.
A compact brown woodcut initial immediately grabs the eye: simplified, flowing lines fold a stylized saint and floral ornament into the letter, its flat, bold shape sharply contrasting with the formal black type around it.
The work exemplifies early-20th-century interest in handcrafted book arts and Bernard’s modernist revival of medieval woodcut initials, using simplified, expressive forms to renew devotional narrative design.
Medium
One from an illustrated book with 329 woodcuts
Dimensions
composition (irreg.): 3 5/16 × 3 1/16" (8.4 × 7.7 cm); page: 12 13/16 × 9 13/16" (32.5 × 25 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
The Louis E. Stern Collection
Accession
677.1964.123
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
