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Lot Essay
In 1900, the brothers Josse and Gaston Bernheim exhibited the works of the Nabis painters, including Vuillard, Pierre Bonnard, Maurice Denis, Paul Ranson and Ker-Xavier Roussel. While the Bernheim brothers established close ties with many of these artists, only Vuillard signed a formal contract that remained in effect until 1912. The brothers took a great personal involvement in the life of Vuillard, visiting his studio and commenting on his works in progress. In 1910, they commissioned large-scale panels from Vuillard and Denis for their country home in Bois-Lurette. Vuillard created a series of seven large scale panels, including the present work, depicting "Normandy landscapes, meadows and gardens in which woman and children evoke a peaceful holiday life" (J. Warnod, op. cit., p. 78) which decorated the hall entrance.
In the early 1890s, thanks in part to this support from the Bernheims, Bonnard, Vuillard and Denis began to promote themselves as painter-decorators, while also continuing to paint small-scale compositions. This marked a gradual change in the climate for decorative painting and by the mid-1900s, paintings such as Aux Pavillions à Cricqueboeuf, Le Parc had become status symbols in the French elite's social circle. As Charles Morice noted, "Decoration is the goal, the purpose, and the sanction of all efforts concerning art" ("Revue de la quinzans" in Mercure de France, 1908, p. 1).
In a discussion of Vuillard's contributions to this tradition, Gloria Groom has commented: “By mid-decade, Vuillard had developed a hybrid of portraiture and decoration that he would use throughout his career. In the majority of his large-scale decorative works created after he returned to distemper in 1907, his style was characterized by a greater naturalism. This was achieved at times through the use of photographic sources, or aide-mémoire, as well as by the dissolution of distemper to an almost wash-like consistency, or, conversely, by its application in dense, cement-like layers. This tendency was also reinforced by a preference for Impressionist themes of modern streets, squares, and suburban or summer homes” ("Into the Mainstream: Decorative Painting, 1900-30" in Beyond the Easel: Decorative Painting by Bonnard, Vuillard, Denis, and Roussel, 1890-1930, exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2001, p. 150).
In the early 1890s, thanks in part to this support from the Bernheims, Bonnard, Vuillard and Denis began to promote themselves as painter-decorators, while also continuing to paint small-scale compositions. This marked a gradual change in the climate for decorative painting and by the mid-1900s, paintings such as Aux Pavillions à Cricqueboeuf, Le Parc had become status symbols in the French elite's social circle. As Charles Morice noted, "Decoration is the goal, the purpose, and the sanction of all efforts concerning art" ("Revue de la quinzans" in Mercure de France, 1908, p. 1).
In a discussion of Vuillard's contributions to this tradition, Gloria Groom has commented: “By mid-decade, Vuillard had developed a hybrid of portraiture and decoration that he would use throughout his career. In the majority of his large-scale decorative works created after he returned to distemper in 1907, his style was characterized by a greater naturalism. This was achieved at times through the use of photographic sources, or aide-mémoire, as well as by the dissolution of distemper to an almost wash-like consistency, or, conversely, by its application in dense, cement-like layers. This tendency was also reinforced by a preference for Impressionist themes of modern streets, squares, and suburban or summer homes” ("Into the Mainstream: Decorative Painting, 1900-30" in Beyond the Easel: Decorative Painting by Bonnard, Vuillard, Denis, and Roussel, 1890-1930, exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2001, p. 150).