Edouard Vuillard

Dr & Mme Antonin Gosset, Paris (the sitter's parents, acquired directly from the artist)
Private Collection
Sale: Drouot, Paris, 15th March 2008, lot 47
Purchased at the above sale by the present owners

Paris, Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Exposition Vuillard, 1912, no. 14 (titled Portrait d'enfant)
Paris, Manzi-Joyant, Exposition d'art moderne, 1912, no. 204
Basel, Kunsthalle, Edouard Vuillard, 1949, no. 214
New York, The Museum of Modern Art & Cleveland, Cleveland Museum of Art, Edouard Vuillard, 1954

Antoine Salomon & Guy Cogeval, Vuillard. The Inexhaustible Glance. Critical Catalogue of Paintings and Pastels, Paris, 2003, vol. II, no. IX-166, illustrated p. 1116

The canvas is not lined.There are some pinholes visible along the right edge. Examination under UV light reveals some scattered small spots of retouching in places, in particular to the pinholes and above the signature. There is some craquelure, especially to the white pigments at the centre of the composition. This work is in overall 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. 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."

The present work is a charming and intimate portrait of Jean Gosset, depicted eating breakfast in the idyllic surrounds of a summer garden. Perched on a chair which is almost comically too large for him, the child appears utterly absorbed in his breakfast. Vuillard’s unusual use of perspective—placing the table diagonally from the corner of the picture plane—serves as a highly effective compositional tool, drawing the viewer further into the scene. According to Vuillard’s journal of the time he spent five days painting this work, between 12 and 17^th September 1911. Annette Vaillant, daughter of an actress whose close circle included artists such as Renoir and Toulouse-Lautrec, recalls Vuillard's painting of this composition: 'Jean Gosset was the son of the well-known and highly fashionable surgeon. Dr Gosset had installed his wife and child in a nearby villa and there Vuillard started on his lovely portrait of the little boy in a pink jersey sailor-suit, with his little hat pushed back over his blond curls. He was taking a snack out in the sun, drinking from a large white cup…' (quoted in Antoine Salomon & Guy Cogeval, Vuillard, The Inexhaustible Glance, Critical Catalogue of Paintings and Pastels, Paris, 2003, vol. II, p. 1117).

Portraiture formed a key part of Vuillard’s œuvre throughout his career, and some of his most successful paintings depict his close friends and their families. Stephen Brown has noted with specific reference to Vuillard’s portraits that: ‘Vuillard may be seen as the heir of Degas, Gauguin and the Impressionists. He was also an artist of his time and, more precisely, the artist of a particular social milieu and moment…  Rarely has an artist so completely entered the circle of his patrons’ (Stephen Brown, Edouard Vuillard, A Painter and his muses, 1890-1940, p. 33).