Edouard Vuillard

136 Pages·1985·24.237 MB·English

by  Stuart Preston

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"V.
VUILLARD
EDOUARD VUILLARD WAS A MODEST MAN, WITH
a talent for surrounding himself with the most bril-
liant artists and writers of his time. He led a placid and
comfortable life in the townhouses and countrvhouses of
fin-de-siecle Paris. Out of this life came great art.
As a young man, Vuillard was a member of the Nabis, a diverse
group of artists who joined together in 1888, imbued with a com-
mon desire to transcend Impressionism with its emphasis on record-
ing pure visual sensations. Inspired by Gauguin and influenced by
the Symbolist poets, they produced an art of great excitement and
beauty, and laid the foundations for Fauvism. Painting his family,
friends, and colleagues at home, in their salons, bedrooms, and gardens,
Vuillard achieved a style utilizing color and pattern that endowed his
familiar subjects with the mood of an exquisite and subtle dream.
He found these intimate pictures difficult to share with the public:
"It's dreadful, revealing all these secrets!"
In life, Vuillard surrounded himself with the best and brightest of
his day. He shared a studio with Pierre Bonnard and frequented
Mallarme's famous salons. Along with a galaxy of stars, he contributed
to La Revue Blanche, and like many others, fell under the spell of the
owner's beautiful wife, Misia Natanson. In an essay, accompanied by
documentary photographs and works by Vuillard and his contem-
poraries, art critic Stuart Preston creates a portrait of the man and
his world. In his commentaries to the colorplates, he delves further
into particular associations and occasions that illuminate each painting.
114 illustrations, including 40 plates mJuU color
On thejacket:
Edouard Vuillard. Entrance to the Garden. 1903.
Ittleson Collection, New York Citv

VUILLARD
SELF-PORTRAIT. 1891. Oil on panel, 11 x SVs".
Collection Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, UpperviUe, Virginia
E D O U A R D
VU
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TEXT
BY
PRESTON
STUART
Harry Abrams, Publishers
N. Inc.,
W
TO LIEBERMAN
S.
ISBN0-8109-1706-8
LibraryofCongress CatalogCardNumber:85-70922
Publishedin 1985 byHarryN Abrams, Incorporated, New York
Alsopublishedin a leatherboundeditionforTheEastonPress,
Noru'alk, Connecticut Allrightsreserved. This isaconcise
edition ofStuartPreston'sVuillard, originallypublishedin
1971. Nopartofthecontentsofthisbook maybereproduced
withoutthe writtenpermission ofthepublisher.
PrintedandboundinJapan
CONTENTS
EDOUARD VUILLARD
7 by Stuart Preston
128 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
COLORPLATES
PORTRAIT OF LUGNE-POE
49 Collection Fletcher Steele. Pittsford. Neiv York
51 LILACS Collection Mr anc/ Mrs. Donald S. Straleni. New York City
53 WOMAN SWEEPING IN A ROOM The Phillips Collection. Washington. D.C.
55 INTERIOR Smith College Museum ofArt. Northampton. Massachusetts
57 MOTHER AND SISTER OF THE ARTIST The Museum ofModern Art. New York City.
Gift ofMrs. Saidie A. May
59 KER-XAVIER ROUSSEL READING A NEWSPAPER Private collection. Pans
61 THE PARK Collection Mr and Mrs. William B. Jaffe. New York City
63 Three panels from the series PUBLIC GARDENS Musee National d'Art Moderne, Paris
65 Panel from the series PUBLIC GARDENS The Clei'elandMuseum ofArt. Gift ofthe Hanna Fund
67 Panel from the series PUBLIC GARDENS The Museum ofFine Arts. Houston. Robert Lee Blaffer
Memorial Collection
69 INTERIOR WITH FIGURE The Robert Lehman Collection. New York City
71 MISIA AND THADEE NATANSON The Museum ofModern Art. New York City.
Gift ofNate B and Frances Spingold
.
73 ROOM UNDER THE EAVES Collection Mr and Mrs. B. E. Bensinger Chicago
75 AUX TUILERIES Collection Mr and Mrs. Paul Mellon. Upperville. Virginia
77 WOMAN SEATED IN A GARDEN CollectionJames Dugdale. Crathorne. England
79 WOMAN READING IN A GARDEN CollectionJames Dugdale. Crathorne. England
51
8 STILL LIFE WITH THE ARTISTS PAINT BOX AND MOSS ROSES Estate ofAilsa
Mellon Bruce
83 ROOM WITH THREE LAMPS Collection Gustave Zumsteg. Zurich
85 SYMPHONY IN RED Collection Mr and Mrs. Ralph F. Colin. New York City
87 ALFRED NATANSON AND HIS WIFE Collection Nate B. and Frances Spmgold,
Neu' York City
89 THE CHAISE LONGUE Collection Mr and Mrs. Richard Rogers. New York City
91 WAITING (LA VISITE) Collection E. G. Biihrle. Zurich
93 INTERIOR: WOMAN BEFORE A WINDOW Private collection. New York City
95 MOTHER AND CHILD Collection Mr and Mrs. William Goetz, Los Angeles
97 ENTRANCE TO THE GARDEN Ittleson Collection. New York City
99 SELF-PORTRAIT Collection Mr and Mrs. Donald S. Stralem. Neiv York City
loi CHILD LYING ON A RUG Collection Mrs. John Wintersteen. Villanova. Pennsylvania
103 THE PAINTER KER-XAVIER ROUSSEL AND HIS DAUGHTER Albright-Knox Art
Gallery. Buffalo. Room ofContemporary Art Fund
105 AT THE SEASHORE Collection Armand Hammer. Los Angeles
107 LE DIVAN ROUGE Collection Mr and Mrs. Albert K. Chapman. Rochester, New York
109 THE ART DEALERS City Art Museum ofSt. Louis
1 1 I INTERIOR OF A BEDROOM Collection Mr and Mrs. Don Harrington. Amarillo, Texas
113 LA PLACE VINTIMILLE Collection Lita A. Hazen. New York City
1 1 MADAME HESSEL SEATED Collection Mrs. Lester Avnet, New York City
1 17 THEODORE DURET IN HIS STUDY The National Gallery ofArt. Washington, D.C.
Chester Dale Collection
1 19 ANNETTE MEDITATING Private collection, Pans
121 MADAME VUILLARD AT THE WINDOW Private collection, Pans
123 STUDY FOR THE PORTRAIT OF BONNARD Musee duPetit-Palais, Pans
125 THE VISIT The National Gallery ofArt. Washington. DC. Chester Dale Collection
127 LA COMTESSE DE NOAILLES Collection Hon. and Mrs. SamuelJ LeFrak, New York City
.