Édouard Vuillard

Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris (acquired from the artist on the 19th June 1901)
Private Collection, Paris

Paris, Bernheim-Jeune, Vuillard, 1908, no. 34
New York, Jacques Seligmann, Paintings by Bonnard, Vuillard, Roussel, 1930, no. 29 (titled Fleurs et carafes)
Zurich, Kunsthaus, Pierre Bonnard, Édouard Vuillard, 1932, no. 149 (titled Le Pot de fleurs, 1905)
London, Arthur Tooth & Sons, Paintings and Pastels by E. Vuillard, 1934, no. 15
Paris, Musée des Arts décoratifs, E. Vuillard, 1938, no. 92
London, Reid & Lefevre, L'Entente cordiale. Paintings by Contemporary British and French Artists, 1939, no. 32
Paris, Durand-Ruel, Édouard Vuillard, (1868-1940), 1961, no. 26, illustrated

Tristan Bernard, "Jos Hessel", in La Renaissance, vol. 13, no. 1, January 1930, illustrated p. 27
André Chastel, Vuillard. 1868-1940, Paris, 1946, illustrated p. 68
Claude Roger-Marx, Vuillard et son temps, 1946, pp. 62 & 63, illustrated in colour p. 48
Michelle Seurière, "Les fleurs chez les peintres, de l'Impressionnisme à nos jours", in Jardin des Arts, no. 32, June 1957, illustrated p. 495
Claude Roger-Marx, Vuillard, Intérieurs, Paris & Lausanne, 1968, illustrated in colour pl. 8
Emilie Daniel, Vuillard, L'espace de l'intimité, unpublished PhD thesis, Institut d'Art et d'Archéologie, Paris, 1984, fig. 97, illustrated p. 261
Antoine Salomon & Guy Cogeval, Vuillard, Le Regard innombrable, catalogue critique des peintures et pastels, Paris, 2003, vol. II, no. VII-142, illustrated in colour p. 616

The board is laid down on a cradled panel. There are two small areas and 5 minor specks of retouching to the upper left corner, a tiny dot of retouching to the upper right corner and a tiny chip of paint loss on the cloth below the red small dish. All retouching is visible under UV light. This work is in good condition. Colours: overall lighter and fresher in the original.
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This delicate, beautiful still-life highlights Vuillard's stunning ability to make even the simplest arrangement of everyday objects into a glowing, jewel-like composition. The merits of this painting were most notably recognized by renowned French art collector and critic Claude-Roger Marx in his book Vuillard, His Life and Work: "Le Bouquet de pensées, de myosotis et de pâquerettes is a very small canvas, the greatness of which resides in its hidden merits. To flowers, Vuillard has consecrated a number of studies. I know none with more emotion in it than this. The explanation, perhaps, lies in its simplicity. It is with flowers as with persons - the humbler they are, the more surely Vuillard understands them. The flower plucked in the fields or the Curé's garden attracts him far more than the rarer species, because it does not seek to shine or to eclipse its companions. The deep velvet of the pansies agrees with the ingenious look of the forget-me-nots and the daisy's fresh enamel. For this modest gathering, there is no call for an ornate receptacle - a transparent glass is enough. The iridescence of the crystal saucer on which the glass stands, harmonizes with the milky smoothness of the jug which stands out clear against the table. Here again the work owes its power not to contrasts but to the affinity of tones and values. Le Bouquet de pensées... is painted in oil on millboard, but it might be mistaken for a distemper work or fresco, for even the lights are matt, suitable to the sobriety of the subject" (Claude-Roger Marx (translated by Edmund B. d'Auvergne), in Vuillard, His Life and Work, London, 1946, p. 62).