Edouard Vuillard (1868-1940)

The present work depicts a dining room scene at the Closerie des Genêts, a villa which Vuillard and his mother rented in Vaucresson, a commune in the western suburbs of Paris. The painting is representative of one of the artist’s favorite themes: the domestic interior. Alexandre Vuillard, the artist’s brother, is seated in the foreground reading anewspaper at the dining table, while their mother, Madame Vuillard, can be seen through the open door of her bedroom, standing in her black bonnet.
A. Salomon and G. Cogeval write, “This is one of Vuillard’s most accomplished compositions of the Closerie des Genêts, with clear reminiscences of his Nabi period (the fin-de-siècle wallpaper, the check tablecloth), and his two next of kin in different rooms brought onto the same plane. A snapshot taken two years earlier [fig. 1] is one of Vuillard’s most touching photographic compositions: in the foreground is Alexandre, who seems permanently indifferent to everything, and, behind him, his mother gazing at him with fervent admiration” (op. cit.).
This painting displays a wealth of decorative elements within the interior, most noticeably the ornate wallpaper, the red-checkered table cloth, the patterned carpet, and the bright green chandelier hanging above the table. Each of these accents energetically competes for the viewer’s attention, but in the end, the composition offers a captivating insight into the artist’s private world.

(fig. 1) Edouard Vuillard, Alexandre Vuillard in the dining-room, Vaucresson, 1922. Private collection.