Edouard Vuillard

Original Prints: Lithographs

Invited by Maurice Denis in 1889 to join the confrérie des Nabis, a group of young artists that sought to break away radically from academic conventions, Edouard Vuillard (1868 - 1940) nevertheless developed a quite personal and refined style.  Furthermore, Vuillard and Pierre Bonnard (another member of the group) shared a studio in the early 1890s, and their mutual influence during this period in particular is remarkable.

Around 1891, he first began learning lithography and over the years produced some 60 lithographs, regularly treating only a few specific themes, notably landscapes depicting everyday scenes of city life, or intimate views of cozy interiors with his immediate family circle.  In the Ancourt workshop (where Bonnard worked at the time, as well as Tououse-Lautrec), Vuillard perfected his technique in the then-novel field of colour lithography. 

Soon noticed by Ambroise Vollard, the famous art dealer, Vuillard was soon commissioned to produce a number of large-format colour lithographs, which were published in two albums.  Although relatively unsuccessful at first, Vuillard's lithographs are today acclaimed as some of the most creative printmaking undertakings at the turn of the last century.

Le Jardin des Tuileries The Tuileries Garden Roger-Marx 28 colour lithograph, 1896, the second state (of two), on chine volant paper, a superb and fresh impression with full margins This large print of the famous garden in Paris is Vuillard's first colour lithograph, and which is often seen as one of his finest.

Intérieur aux Tentures Roses I - II Interior with Pink Wall Draperies I - II Roger-Marx 36, 37 colour lithographs, 1899, the fourth state (of four), and the second state (of two), respectively, on chine volant paper backed on wove, fine trial proof impressions with good margins These two lithographs were published by Ambroise Vollard in the album, Paysages et Intérieurs.  Conceived as an harmonic panorama of patterned colours, this vibrant set of lithographs is considered to be Vuilllard's graphic masterpiece.