Graphic art by Édouard Vuillard

Edouard Vuillard (1868-1940) liked to take his subjects from his immediate surroundings. His mother, with whom he lived until her death, was his principal muse. And she features regularly in the domestic scenes Vuillard loved to immortalise. Vuillard drew inspiration from the materials in her clothing workshop, creating atmospheric interiors with contrasting patterns of fabrics, wallpaper and carpets. His work had a decorative quality that fitted in well with the principles of Les Nabis, the art movement with which he became closely associated in 1890. This group of avant-garde artists (who called themselves Nabis after the Hebrew word for prophet) included talented individuals such as Pierre Bonnard and Maurice Denis. Despite major differences in approach, they shared a common interest in the decorative possibilities of graphic art. Japanese prints exercised a significant influence on these young French avant-gardists in the years 1888-1905, resulting in a style that emphasised areas of colour, contours and silhouettes. This artistic movement was influenced by artists such as Paul Gauguin and the Pont Aven School, as well as Symbolism and the Pre-Raphaelites. These artists rejected Academism and Impressionism alike: their aim was to restore emotion and imagination to art. Like his fellow Nabis artists, Vuillard was closely connected to avant-garde theatre. He created various designs for Théâtre de l'Oeuvre programmes, showing the content of the performance with a characteristic scene. Besides interiors and theatre sets the print room also presents colourful landscapes from Vuillard's Paysages et Intérieurs series. These lithographs were printed in 1899 by the art dealer Ambroise Vollard. In addition to the prints from the Van Gogh Museum collection, this exhibition also features a remarkable piece on loan from the Dutch Foundation Triton: La salle Gaveau. This painting on paper by Vuillard shows Hélène Jourdan-Morhange (1892-1961) as a promising young violinist in concert at the Salle Gaveau in Paris. It has therefore become known as Madame Jourdan-Morhange au violon. Vuillard painted this work, with its impressive composition and format, around 1914 using tempera. It was with this technique, which produces a dry, matt finish, that he had first made his name as a theatre set painter. Pressetext

Graphic art by Édouard Vuillard at the Van Gogh Museum