EDOUARD VUILLARD (1868-1940)

Details
EDOUARD VUILLARD (1868-1940)

Portrait de la grand-mère Michaud-bonne maman

stamped with signature bottom left 'E. Vuillard' (Lugt 2497a)--oil on canvas
11½ x 12 in. (29 x 30.5 cm.)
Painted in 1888
Provenance
Estate of the artist
Sam Salz, Inc., New York
Acquired from the above by Mr. and Mrs. Ralph F. Colin on Dec. 6, 1957
Exhibited
New York, M. Knoedler & Co., Inc., The Colin Collection, April-May, 1960, no. 12 (illustrated)

Lot Essay

According to André Chastel:

Vuillard's beloved maternal grandmother, Antoinette Desirée Michaud, with whom the Vuillard family lived, frequently posed for her grandson during his formative years. In his Journal entry of 28 November 1888, Vuillard recorded that he had begun a painted portrait of grand-mère Michaud or "bonne maman," as he affectionately called her. Tiny croquis drawn by Vuillard next to the numerous subsequent Journal entries dealing with the portrait leave little doubt that the picture in question is the Portrait de la grand-mère Michaud--"bonne maman".