Interpretive Resource

Edouard Vuillard continually explored the decorative potential of painting, using a harmonious palette and graceful forms to convey a scene’s emotional content without relinquishing the natural light and atmosphere so revered by his Impressionist predecessors. When he was only in his mid-twenties, Vuillard was engaged in filling important commissions for large-scale, interior decorations. As he matured, he continued to work in this mode, making a quiet claim for its validity even while World War I raged across Europe.

Vuillard adapted his painting materials to meet his goals, inspired perhaps by other forms of decorative art such as tapestry and fresco. His medium here—distemper—is particularly interesting. Composed of powdered pigments and hot-glue binder mixed with water, distemper must be used while still warm, requiring the artist to work quickly and confidently. This difficult process yields colors that are matte and vibrant, as well as permanent. Vuillard prized this effect; he had first used distemper for theatrical scenery in the early 1890s, and after 1900 employed it almost exclusively for paintings of all kinds. He refrained from varnishing his works, in order to preserve their dry, opaque appearance.

In Foliage—Oak Tree and Fruit Seller, Vuillard took advantage of distemper’s quick drying time, building up thick layers of paint that have an almost stucco-like texture. He established an interplay between this unusual surface and the intricacy of the composition, producing an image of illusionistic space and flat pattern. Originally installed in the Parisian dining room of the art dealer Georges Bernheim, this painting must have asserted the importance of beauty and peace after a time of conflict and anxiety.