Pot of Flowers

Édouard Vuillard was a French painter, decorative artist, and printmaker. From 1891 through 1900, Vuillard was a prominent member of the avant-garde Les Nabis artistic group, creating paintings that assembled areas of pure color.

He drew much of his subject matter from his intimate Paris apartment, where he lived with his mother. In portraying familiar, everyday objects, he often opted for unconventional angles and compositions, with a keen eye for the decorative potential of each scene. Like many of his still-life paintings, this piece feels informal, more like a snapshot of a room than a carefully staged arrangement of objects created solely for the painting. While the pot of flowers serves as the focal point, the stack of canvases on the left reveals that this is a view of the artist’s studio.

P.S. Vuillard was part of a unique artistic group. Have you heard of it? Learn all you need to know about Les Nabis!