We witness a private domestic scene: the artist’s mother is posed in front of a mirror in the Parisian apartment where they lived. Vuillard took numerous family photographs and the snapshot effect here reflects this; indeed, he may have used a photograph to paint the figure in addition to a pencil sketch. The artist’s mother ran a dressmaking business from their home and Vuillard’s style was influenced by the textiles that surrounded him. Here he combines the patterns of his mother’s dress, the carpet, bed cover and wallpaper to create a richly varied decorative surface.

Inscriptions / Translations:  Signed l.l.: E Vuillard

Notes:  Exhibited: 'Exposition La Libre Esthétique', Brussels, Belgium, 1901, no. 524; 'Vuillard', Wildenstein Gallery, London, UK, 1948, no 20; 'Pierre Bonnard and Edouard Vuillard', Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, UK, 1948, no. 76; 'French Impressionism: Treasures from the Midlands', Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham, UK, 07 June 1991 - 18 August 1991, p. 55; 'Vuillard', Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow, UK, 07 September 1991 - 20 October 1991, no. 60; 'Vuillard', Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield, UK, 26 October 1991 - 18 December 1991; 'Edouard Vuillard', National Gallery of Art, Grand Palais, Paris France, 23 September 2003 - 04 January 2004, no. 155; 'Vuillard: From Post-Impressionist to Modern Master', Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK, 31 January 2004 - 18 April 2004; 'Impressionist Interiors', National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, UK, 10 May 2008 - 10 August 2008, no. 42; 'Japanese Inspirations: Monet, Gauguin, Van Gogh', Museum Folkwang, near Dusseldorf, Germany, 27 September 2014 - 01 February 2015; 'Japanese Inspirations: Monet, Gauguin, Van Gogh', Kunsthaus, Zurich, Switzerland, 20 February 2015 - 10 May 2015; 'Édouard Vuillard: The Poetry of the Everyday', The Holburne Museum, Bath, 24 May - 15 September 2019.

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