Thomas W Barnett: Post-Impressionism and I - Part Two of Three (Edouard Vuillard & Les Nabis)

Edouard Vuillard

Woman in a Striped Dress, 1895

Edouard Vuillard was a French painter and printmaker associated with the Nabis - an avante-garde subdivision of Post-Impressionism which formed in the 1890's, comprised of a group of art students inspired by the synthetism of Gauguin. Vuillard contributed to their exhibitions at the Gallery of Le Barc de Boutteville, and later shared a studio with fellow Nabis Pierre Bonnard (coming up in Part Three!) and Maurice Denis.

Brief Summary of Les Nabis

Les Nabis artists worked in a variety of media, using oils on both canvas and cardboard, distemper on canvas and wall decoration, and also produced posters, prints, book illustration, textiles and furniture. Considered to be on the cutting edge of modern art during their early period, their subject matter was representational (though often symbolist in inspiration), but was design oriented along the lines of the Japanese prints they so admired, and art nouveau. Unlike those types however, the artists of this circle were highly influenced by the paintings of the impressionists, and thus while sharing the flatness, page layout and negative space of art nouveau and other decorative modes, much of Nabis art has a painterly, non-realistic look, with color palettes often reminding one of Cézanne and Gauguin. Bonnard's posters and lithographs are more firmly in the art nouveau, or Toulouse-Lautrec manner

Good Summary of Vuillard's Style

In his paintings and decorative pieces Vuillard depicted mostly interiors, streets and gardens. Marked by a gentle humor, they are executed in the delicate range of soft, blurred colors characteristic of his art. Living with his mother, a dressmaker, until the age of sixty, Vuillard was very familiar with interior and domestic spaces. Much of his art reflected this influence, largely decorative and often depicting very intricate patterns.

I love Vuillard's dappled, painterly texture and restrained colour palette. His work on interiors is of particular interest to me, and combined with my exploration of the work of his British counter-part, Walter Sickert, will provide a good wealth of reference and inspiration to execute my painting of my parents in an interior setting.