Edouard Vuillard (1868-1940)

While the recto of the present lot depicts a leisurely afternoon spent by two women under a sumptuously striped beach cabana surrounded by a hazy pink light, the verso reveals an unfinished yet beautifully rendered sketch for Vuillard's brilliant interior painting of 1902, Madame Vuillard écossant dans la salle à manger (Salomon and Cogeval, no. VIII-42). In 1902, Vuillard depicted his mother shelling peas in the dining room of the villa Les Myosotis in atleast five works (Salomon and Cogeval, nos. VIII-39 - VIII-43), using the fiery red walls as a startling backdrop to her focused activities in the lavishly appointed room.

(fig. 1) Photograph of Madame Vuillard in the dining room at Les Myosotis.