Figures in an Interior

Figures in an Interior is one of four panels painted by Vuillard for the apartment of Doctor Henri Vaquez in Paris. This cardiologist, who was doctor to Daudet and later Marcel Proust, was a passionate lover of modern art.

For a room that was undoubtedly used as a library, Vuillard devised a subtle visual interplay between the pictures themselves, and the walls covered with the wallpaper that was their extension. The figures that appear in this panel are imaginary doubles of the occupants of the place. They blend into the multicolored mass of fabrics and wallpapers, which bring to mind the mille-fleurs tapestries of the Late Middle Ages.

Exemplifying the artists’ reflection on the relationship between painting and the decorative arts, these panels where the subjects dissolve into the interplay of colored marks prefigure the revolutions in painting of the early 20th century, with the birth of Abstraction and the decorative paintings of Matisse.

P.S. Vuillard was heavily influenced by women in his life. Here you can read about their relationships.

P.P.S. We love Vuillard and other artists associated with the Nabis. We had to feature some of their works in our 2022 Weekly Desk Calendar. Check it out here, now 40% off the original price.