Interiors by Jean Édouard Vuillard 1868-1940

Jean-Edouard Vuillard (1868-1940) was a French painter best known for his unique & exquisite interior paintings, & for his association with the artist group Les Nabis, both of which blossomed in the 1890s. Vuillard's intimate interiors were inspired by the 60 years, he spent with his mother in a succession of apartments in Paris. The son of a retired sea captain, Jean-Edouard Vuillard moved with his family to Paris at the age of 10. After winning a scholarship, he trained at the French Academy of Fine Arts, where he met Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947). He was a keen observer of the interplay between family & friends. The rooms he shared for so long with his mother became the set pieces of his art - lovingly recorded in intricate mosaics of dappled color & sensitive brushwork. His 1890s works are among the finest examples of domestic interior paintings.  After the death of his mother in 1928, Vuillard finally married & settled in La Baule, where he died in 1940.

 Jean Édouard Vuillard (French artist, 1868-1940) 1893 Seated Woman, Cup of Coffee

 Jean Édouard Vuillard (French artist, 1868-1940) The Blue Sleeve 1893

Jean Édouard Vuillard (French artist, 1868-1940) The Widow’s Visit (also known as The Conversation)  1898

 Jean Édouard Vuillard (French artist, 1868-1940) Madame Vuillard Peeling Vegetables  1895

 Jean Édouard Vuillard (French artist, 1868-1940) Madame Vuillard with a Pink Cup  1893

Jean Édouard Vuillard (French artist, 1868-1940) Mother and Sister of the Artist, 1895

 Jean Édouard Vuillard (French artist, 1868-1940) Portrait of Marie Vuillard 1890

Jean Édouard Vuillard (French artist, 1868-1940) Marie at the Balcony Railing 1893

 Jean Édouard Vuillard (French artist, 1868-1940) The Mumps 1892

Jean Édouard Vuillard (French artist, 1868-1940) Family Dinner c 1891

Jean Édouard Vuillard (French artist, 1868-1940)  Breakfast at Madame Vuillard’s 1895

Jean Édouard Vuillard (French artist, 1868-1940)  Femme couchée de dos vers 1891

 Jean Édouard Vuillard (French artist, 1868-1940) In front of a Tapestry, 1899

  Jean Édouard Vuillard (French artist, 1868-1940) Sleeping Baby 1898

  Jean Édouard Vuillard (French artist, 1868-1940) Breakfast 1893

Jean Édouard Vuillard (French artist, 1868-1940) Seated Woman Dressed in Black 1893

Jean Édouard Vuillard (French artist, 1868-1940) The Drawer, c. 1892

  Jean Édouard Vuillard (French artist, 1868-1940) Madame Vuillard Preparing French Beans, 1898

 Jean Édouard Vuillard (French artist, 1868-1940) Breakfast 1894

 Jean Édouard Vuillard (French artist, 1868-1940) Gravy Boat and Napkin Rings 1896

Jean Édouard Vuillard (French artist, 1868-1940) The White Room 1899

 Jean Édouard Vuillard (French artist, 1868-1940) Young Girl, the Hand on a Doorknob, 1891

 Jean Édouard Vuillard (French artist, 1868-1940) The Nurse 1894

 Jean Édouard Vuillard (French artist, 1868-1940) Woman in Blue (also known as At the Ransons 1895

 Jean Édouard Vuillard (French artist, 1868-1940) Broom in the Yard at 346 Rue Saint-Honoré, 1895

Jean Édouard Vuillard (French artist, 1868-1940) Interior with Red Bed (also known as The Bridal Chamber) 1893

 Jean Édouard Vuillard (French artist, 1868-1940) Woman by the Window (1898)

 Jean Édouard Vuillard (French artist, 1868-1940) Madame Vuillard Reading the Newspaper 1898

 Jean Édouard Vuillard (French artist, 1868-1940) Mother and Daughter at the Table 1892

 Jean Édouard Vuillard (French artist, 1868-1940) On the Sofa (also known as In the White Room) 1892

 Jean Édouard Vuillard (French artist, 1868-1940) The Yellow Curtain 1893

Jean Édouard Vuillard (French artist, 1868-1940) Woman in Blue with a Child 1899

Jean Édouard Vuillard (French artist, 1868-1940) Woman Sweeping 1899

Jean Édouard Vuillard (French artist, 1868-1940) Madame Vuillard arranging her hair 1899-1900

Interiors by Danish Artist Peter Vilhelm Ilsted 1861-1933

Peter Vilhelm Ilsted (Danish artist, 1861-1933) Girls at Window


Peter Vilhelm Ilsted (Danish artist, 1861-1933) Two Girls Playing


Peter Vilhelm Ilsted (Danish artist, 1861-1933) Boy Studying


Peter Ilsted (1861-1933) & the work of the painters Danish artists Carl Holsøe (1863-1935) & Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864-1916 who was Ilsted's brother-in-law), formed the core of the Copenhagen Interior School. They portrayed scenes of everyday life inside houses. Ilsted, Hammershøi,& Holsoe's quiet rooms, delicate lighting -- mostly by sunshine -- usually focus on a single person. They use a limited palette with dull tones emphasising how the sunlight reflects on each surface giving them different textures. Some find the depictions calming & powerfully beautiful, others see the women inhabiting these spaces as lonely & waiting. All 3 artists were members of The Free Exhibition, a progressive art society created around 1890, famous for painting images of "Sunshine & Silent Rooms," all in subtle colors. Their works reflect the orderliness of a tranquil life, similar to the earlier works of Vermeer. These interiors evoke at once a sense of calm, as well as a sense of mystery. Ilstedes achievements in mezzotints were revolutionary. Some of his mezzotints, most of which were created in black as well as color, are considered among the finest ever made.


Peter Vilhelm Ilsted (Danish artist, 1861-1933) Interior 1896


Peter Vilhelm Ilsted (Danish artist, 1861-1933) Interior with Girl Reading


Peter Vilhelm Ilsted (Danish artist, 1861-1933) Looking Out the Window


Peter Vilhelm Ilsted (Danish artist, 1861-1933)


Peter Vilhelm Ilsted (Danish artist, 1861-1933) Mother and Child 1892


Peter Vilhelm Ilsted (Danish artist, 1861-1933)


Peter Vilhelm Ilsted (Danish artist, 1861-1933)


Peter Vilhelm Ilsted (Danish artist, 1861-1933) The Open Door


Peter Vilhelm Ilsted (Danish artist, 1861-1933) Two of the Artist's Daughters at Liselund


Peter Vilhelm Ilsted (Danish artist, 1861-1933) Woman Reading by Candlelight


Peter Vilhelm Ilsted (Danish artist, 1861-1933) Woman Reading by Sunlight


Peter Vilhelm Ilsted (Danish artist, 1861-1933) Young Girl Serving Tea


Peter Vilhelm Ilsted (Danish artist, 1861-1933)


Peter Vilhelm Ilsted (Danish artist, 1861-1933) Girl Sitting on the Steps


Peter Vilhelm Ilsted (Danish artist, 1861-1933) In the Bedroom

Women reading indoors by Pierre-Auguste Renoir 1841-1919

1897 Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French, 1841-1919). Young Girl Reading

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French Impressionist Painter, 1841-1919)  Reading an Illustrated Journal 1880

 Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French Impressionist Painter, 1841-1919)  The Reader 1875-1876

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French Impressionist Painter, 1841-1919)  Girl Reading 1886

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French Impressionist Painter, 1841-1919)  Woman Reading

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French Impressionist Painter, 1841-1919)

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French Impressionist Painter, 1841-1919)  Girl Reading

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French Impressionist Painter, 1841-1919)  Girl in Blue Reading 1890

 Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French Impressionist Painter, 1841-1919)  Woman Reading 1877

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French Impressionist Painter, 1841-1919)

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French Impressionist Painter, 1841-1919) Graziella 1910

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French Impressionist Painter, 1841-1919)

 Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French Impressionist Painter, 1841-1919)   Young Girl Reading

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French Impressionist Painter, 1841-1919)  1909

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French Impressionist Painter, 1841-1919)  Reading

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French Impressionist Painter, 1841-1919)

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French Impressionist Painter, 1841-1919) Les Deux Soeurs 1889

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French Impressionist Painter, 1841-1919)

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French Impressionist Painter, 1841-1919)

18C Reading Indoors or How to flirt with a book

At first, of course, there is the innocent, virtuous young girl...

Pietro Antonio Rotari (Italian artist, 1707-1762) The Virtuous Girl

Italian painter Pietro Antonio Rotari (1707-1762), was a highly successful, itinerant artist who traveled painting portraits of wealthy patrons across Europe. As a young man he studied under Antonio Balestra in Rome & Francesco Trevisani in Naples. Thereafter he returned to Verona where he set up a studio for a while, before he began to travel.  His work attracted royal & aristocratic patrons in Dresden, Vienna, Munich, & Saint Petersburg.  In order to earn a living between commissioned portraits, he created many genre portraits, often images of pretty young girls casting coquettish glances. He died in St Petersburg, where he had traveled to paint for the Russian court.

Pietro Antonio Rotari (Italian artist, 1707-1762) Young Woman with a Book 1762

Pietro Antonio Rotari (Italian artist, 1707-1762) Girl with a Book

Pietro Antonio Rotari (Italian artist, 1707-1762) Young Lady with a Book

Pietro Antonio Rotari (Italian artist, 1707-1762) Self Portrait

Precious gentlemen...

Lovis Corinth (German artist, 1858-1925) The Freemasons

If you read this blog regularly, you know that I seldom include paintings with completely male subjects; but this one is just too precious to pass by.  Oh my...