Édouard Vuillard

H.O. Miehke, Vienna
Baron Adolphe Kohner, Hungary (and sold: Kohner-Ernst Museum, Budapest, February 29-28, 1934, lot 90)
David Eckles, England
Arthur Tooth & Sons, London
Sam Salz, New York (acquired circa 1952)
Acquired from the above on June 16, 1952

New York, Museum of Modern Art & Cleveland, Cleveland Museum of Art, Édouard Vuillard, 1954, n.n.
Minneapolis, Walker Art Center; San Francisco, California Palace of the Legion of Honor; Saint Louis, Saint Louis Art Museum; Kansas City, William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art & Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, Vuillard, 1960-61, no. 57, illustrated in the catalogue
New York, Wildenstein, Vuillard, 1964, no. 57, illustrated in the catalogue

Stuart Preston, Édouard Vuillard, New York, 1972, no. 65, illustrated p. 46
Antoine Salomon & Guy Cogeval, Vuillard, The Inexhaustible Glance, Critical Catalogue of Paintings and Pastels, vol. II, Paris, 2003, no. VIII-142, illustrated p. 897

Canvas is lined. Surface is clean with a layer of varnish. One pindot loss under varnish layer in chair at far left. Under UV light: several pindot retouches in lower left quadrant and 2-3 in lower right quadrant. An older generation of inpaiting is visible in a few places around extreme edges to address prior frame abrasion. Otherwise fine, work is in good condition.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Painted in 1905, this lively and intimate scene depicts Madame Marcelle Aron, a friend and patron of the artist, seated in the dining room of Château-Rouge, a summer manor in Normandy belonging to the Hessel family. Vuillard met Madame Aron through Lucy Hessel, his lover and lifetime partner, as well as first cousin and close friend of the sitter.

The artist painted the daily life of his patrons using their domestic settings as the ground for his pictures: “I do not paint portraits; I paint people in their surroundings” (Vuillard quoted in Chastel, Vuillard, 1868-1940, p.94). The present work is a clear and beautiful example of how the artist viewed his role as interpreter and archivist of the private life of Parisian society. The rich and busy interior reflects the eclectic decorative style that was dominant at the turn of the century. The gentle luminosity and femininity of the setting subtly transports the viewer to an intimate world of understated allure, with Madame Aron concentrated in her action, probably sewing. As Kimberly Jones notes, “Vuillard’s women are perpetually absorbed in their occupation and…remain unconscious of the presence of the artist and the gaze of the viewer” (quoted in Guy Cogeval, Édouard Vuillard (exhibition catalogue), Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, 2003, p. 131).

The painting’s chromatic unity is remarkable; almost everything in the surroundings seems to match or blend with the pale green and red brushstrokes that describe the sitter. Art critic Albert Aurier, a contemporary of Vuillard, “admired these women bent over their work in gaslit interiors, seeing them as possessing the ‘charm of the unexpected’ and expressing the bittersweet emotions of life and the tenderness of intimacy” (Gloria Groom, Edouard Vuillard: Painter-Decorator, New Haven, 1993, p.28).

Marcelle Aron dans la salle à manger au Château-Rouge is a beautiful example of the artist’s mature style. Vuillard achieves here a near-perfect balance between the decorative and abstracted tendencies of the Nabis movement and the new realism aesthetic that developed in the earliest years of the twentieth century.