Vuillard, Édouard (1868-1940)
Intérieur avec un écran (Interior with a Screen)
c.1909–1910
Oil on paper, laid on cardboard and panel, 35.8 x 23.8 cm
Courtauld Institute of Art, London
Like many of Édouard Vuillard’s paintings, this intimate work is painted on paper, which is left bare in certain areas. It captures a model in a seemingly unposed moment in the artist’s Paris studio. Earlier interiors by Vuillard are often illuminated by lamplight but, here, he enjoys depicting the effects of natural light falling across the model’s bare arm and thigh. Folding screens were a favoured motif for Vuillard, and he produced three himself, although this one, painted in bright blocks of colour, is not readily identifiable as one of them. (Courtauld)