Bernheim-Jeune was a Parisien art firm run by brothers Gaston and Josse Bernheim, established by their father Alexandre Bernheim [1833-1915]. Son of a seller of artist's supplies in Besançon, Alexandre was associated there with Courbet, with whose advice he set up a shop in Paris. Opening his shop in 1863 on the rue Lafitte, Bernheim became a merchant of paintings as well, and was introduced into Parisian high society. His sons Gaston and Josse continued the business, which then became known as Bernheim-Jeune. By the end of the nineteenth century they began to emphasize the exhibition and sale of impressionist paintings, editing a number of monographs on impressionist artists as well. Bernheim-Jeune, with its director of twenty years Félix Fénéon, was one of the most important commercial vehicles of the impressionists, after the galleries Durand-Ruel and Georges Petit. Gaston Bernheim [1870-1953] was an artist as well, painting under the name of Gaston de Villers.
Bibliography
1978
Monneret, Sophie, L'Impressionnisme et son Époque 4 vols. Paris, 1978-1981:I:73-74.
1986
Hahnloser-Ingold, Margrit. "Collecting Matisses of the 1920s in the 1920s," in Matisse: The Early Years in Nice. Exh. cat., National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1986: 241-242.
1995
Dauberville, Guy-Patrice and Michel. Henri Matisse Chez Bernheim-Jeune. 2 vols. Paris, 1995
