Édouard Vuillard

Estate of the artist
O'Hana Gallery, London
Michael Behrens, London
David B. Findlay, New York
Mrs Neville Blond, London (acquired circa 1962)
Sale: Christie's, London, 24th June 1986, lot 114
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

New York, David Findlay Galleries, XIXth and XXth Century French Masters, 1957, no. 37, illustrated in the catalogue
Lyons, Musée des Beaux-Arts; Barcelona, Fundació Caixa de Pensions & Nantes, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Vuillard, 1990-91, no. 52, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Dijon, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Budapest, 1869-1914, Modernité hongroise et peinture européenne, 1995, no. 193, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Lausanne, Musée Cantona des Beaux-Arts, Édouard Vuillard. La porte entrebâillée, 2000-01, no. 20, illustrated in colour in the catalogue

Ann Dumas & Guy Cogeval, Vuillard, Paris, 1990, no. 52, illustrated in colour p. 112
Antoine Salomon & Guy Cogeval, Vuillard, Critical Catalogue of Paintings and Pastels, Paris 2003, vol. I, p. 294, no. IV-120, illustrated in colour

The board is stable. There is a retouched surface crease, 6cm. in length, to the right of the centre, which fluoresces under UV light. Apart from an uneven varnish, this work is in good condition. Colours: Overall fairly accurate, although slightly deeper in the original.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

According to Guy Cogeval and Antoine Salomon, '[t]his scarcely adumbrated scene may depict Kerr-Xavier Roussel and Marie... flirting in a large park. Vuillard the dramatist presents us with a carefree idyll, combined with an enigmatic game of hide-and-seek; the picture clearly conjures up a scene in a play. Pelléas et Mélisande, we know, was staged at the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord on 17 May 1893, with vaguely medieval sets that had nothing in common with the present painting; this was the very day on which Kerr-Xavier Roussel got engaged. In Maeterlinck's play, the gradual rediscovery of mutual passion between the two protagonists is bound up with a tragic game in which their true identities are concealed from one another. Vuillard may well be superimposing two levels of reality that are particularly meaningful to him' (op. cit., p. 294).