Les Bretonnieres As evidenced by the important collection of letters between them, Emile Bernard was a close friend of Van Gogh's and always defended his work to the hilt. Along with Théo Van Gogh, he was one of the few people who immediately understood his greatness. After the death of Van Gogh and his brother Théo, Bernard tried his best to collect, keep and make an inventory of his artworks, which he had delivered Théo's wife in order to be kept by her. Furthermore, he was the one who took charge of mounting the first Van Gogh exhibition after his death, and despite resistance and refusals to help him even from his dealer Durand Ruel and, unexpectedly, from Gauguin, he managed to hold it at Le Barc de Bouteville Gallery, thus succeeding in paying a posthumous homage to his friend. This exhibition was the beginning of Van Gogh's artwork rediscovery not only by critics, but also by the market. Lettres de Van Gogh a Emile Bernard The book include the letters between Van Gogh and Emile Bernard from 1887 to 1890, and represent an important document giving evidence of the relationship between the two great artists. Emile Bernard remained close to Van Gogh unconditionally. He recognized his greatness as an artist, as opposed to Gauguin, who - after quarreling in Arles - always harbored hard feelings towards Van Gogh. The same hard feelings were partly directed toward Emile Bernard, to whom Gauguin did not acknowledge authorship of the birth of the Ecole de Pont-Zven and Cloisonnisme.