EDOUARD VUILLARD 1868-1940

Vuillard moved to Paris during his childhood and studied at the Lycée Condorcet where he met those who became famous artists as well as his friends: Ker Xavier Roussel, Paul Sérusier or even Maurice Denis. He abandoned his studies before obtaining his diploma in order to pursue an artistic career. He was first taught drawing by a private teacher and later studied at the Julian Academy and at l'École des Beaux-Arts. Alongside his studies he regularly went to the musée du Louvre to sketch.
In 1889, on the initiative of Maurice Denis, Edouard Vuillard joined a group of artists formed a year ago: the Nabis. Part of the Postimpressionnist movements, Nabis aren't willing to represent nature as it is given to see but rather represent the idea it conveys. They render it through pure colors applied on flat surface and through schematized, almost symbolic, forms. Edouard Vuillard, known as the "Nabi Zouave" essentially depicted scenes of daily life set up in a quiet, cosy and dimly lit atmosphere. Apart from his indoor representations, Edouard Vuillard also realized decor and more precisely panels. These one were very much appreciated and he received many commands for them.
Nowadays the Musée d'Orsay hosts many of Edouard Vuillard's painting, but these one can also be seen in New York, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, or at the Ermitage museum in Saint Pétersbourg as well as in many other international museums.