Édouard Vuillard

Bernheim-Jeune, Paris (acquired from the artist on October 17, 1903)

Albert Bernier, Paris (acquired from the above on October 11, 1904 and sold: Hôtel Drouot, Paris, November 23, 1910, lot 57)

Druet, Paris

Baron Napoléon Gourgaud, Paris (circa 1938)

Jacques Dubourg, Paris

Jacques Lindon, Paris

David Findlay Galleries, New York (circa 1957)

Acquired by the family of the present owner in 1965

Paris, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, E. Vuillard, 1938, no. 67

New York, David Findlay Galleries, XIXth and XXth Century French Masters, 1957, no. 36

Jean Messelet, "L'exposition Vuillard au musée des Arts Décoratifs," Bulletin des Musées de France 10, no. 4, Paris, May 1938, illustrated p. 67

Claude Roger-Marx, Vuillard et son temps, Paris, 1946, p. 78  

Claude Roger-Marx, "Edouard Vuillard 1867-1940," Gazette des Beaux-Arts 29, no. 952, June 1946, illustrated p. 366  

Claude Roger-Marx, Vuillard, Paris, 1948, illustrated pl. 34  

Emilie Daniel, Vuillard, l'espace de l'intimité, Paris, 1984

Antoine Salomon and Guy Cogeval, Vuillard, The Inexhaustible Glance, Critical Catalogue of Paintings and Pastels, vol. 2,  Paris, 2003, no. VII-269, illustrated p. 673

An object that frequently appeared in Vuillard's paintings was the small plaster figurine, Leda, which had been a gift from the sculptor, Aristide Maillol.   Sometimes this piece would appear in the background of depictions of the artist's apartment on the Rue Truffaut, usually set on the mantel over the fireplace.  But in this still-life from around 1902, Vuillard has dedicated his composition to depicting the sculpture in a still-life alongside a vase of asters. 

Antoine Salomon and Guy Covegal have provided the following description for this picture in their catalogue raisonné on the artist's work:  "Maillol's Leda, a white figurine shading into ochre, stands on the table of woven Spanish grass.  Next to it is a bouquet of mauve, pink and white sweet peas and mauve asters flecked with yellow in a brown stoneware jug.  The delicately shaded greys in the background are offset by the black metal hooks fixing an antique bas-relief to the wall above the table" (Antoine Salomon and Guy Cogeval, Vuillard, The Inexhaustible Glance, Critical Catalogue of Paintings and Pastels, vol. 2,  Paris, 2003, p. 673).

Fig. 1, Aristide Maillol, Leda, 1900, plaster