In Martine (1922), perhaps the best example of his work, emotions are implied in gestures, facial expressions, fragments of speech and silence.
He was active from 1912 to 1939.
Bernard was born in Enghien-les-Bains, Val-d'Oise, the son of the dramatist Tristan Bernard.
As a Jew, he was interned for a period of months starting in December 1941 in Compiègne, at a camp where 50,000 Jews were deported to concentration camps.