▁in ▁representation . ▁The ▁women ▁all ▁have ▁slight ▁fa cial ▁features , ▁but ▁they ▁are ▁ind ist ingu ish able . ▁Bernard ▁uses ▁har sh , ▁graph ic ▁out lines ▁to ▁help ▁define ▁the ▁features ▁on ▁the ▁women ' s ▁out f its ▁and ▁faces . ▁The ▁man ▁is ▁dressed ▁in ▁all ▁green , ▁and ▁facing ▁the ▁rest ▁of ▁the ▁women . ▁The ▁characters ▁are ▁bold ly ▁flat , ▁recall ing ▁Bernard ' s ▁love ▁of ▁Japanese ▁prints . ▁The ▁pla cement ▁of ▁the ▁figures ▁shows ▁Bernard ' s ▁dis reg ard ▁to ▁traditional ▁rules , ▁including ▁scale ▁or ▁perspective . ▁ ▁Historical ▁information ▁A ▁young ▁Bernard , ▁together ▁with ▁G au gu in , ▁took ▁a ▁trip ▁to ▁Pont - A ven , ▁a ▁remote ▁location ▁in ▁France , ▁and ▁began ▁creating ▁a ▁new , ▁post im pression ist ▁style ▁of ▁painting ▁that ▁defined ▁the ▁Pont - A ven ▁School ▁and ▁Clo ison n ism ▁during ▁the ▁summer ▁of ▁ 1 8 8 8 . ▁Al ong ▁with ▁G au gu in , ▁Bernard ▁cher ished ▁Brit t any ▁and ▁the ▁Bre ton ▁people , ▁and ▁Bre ton ▁Women ▁at ▁a ▁Wall ▁reflect s ▁his ▁fasc ination ▁with ▁their ▁custom s , ▁which , ▁in ▁contemporary ▁French ▁society , ▁was ▁often ▁seen ▁as ▁a ▁way ▁to ▁get ▁back ▁to ▁the ▁past . ▁Bernard ▁would ▁draw ▁on ▁his ▁experiences ▁in ▁Brit t any ▁throughout ▁his ▁life . ▁ ▁Ac quisition ▁The ▁painting ▁went ▁through ▁many ▁private ▁hands ▁between ▁ 1 8 9 3