ÉDOUARD VUILLARD | Pot de fleurs et papiers

Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris (acquired from the artist on October 1, 1904)
Maurice Gangnat, Paris (acquired from the above on November 22, 1904)
Jos Hessel, Paris (acquired by circa 1916)
Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris (acquired from the above on May 30, 1923)
Galerie Druet, Paris (acquired from the above on June 20, 1923)
Dr. Emil Hahnloser, Zurich (acquired circa 1920s) 
Thence by descent

Winterthur, Kunstmuseum, Austellung Französische Malerei, 1916, no. 195
Basel, Kunsthalle, Peinture française, 1917, no. 127
Paris, Galerie Druet, 25 peintres contemporains, 1925, no. 192 (titled Fleurs sur la table)
Zurich, Kunsthaus Zurich, Pierre Bonnard. Édouard Vuillard, 1932, no. 151 (titled Fleurs sur la table and dated 1905)
Zurich, Kunsthaus Zurich, Ausländische Kunst in Zürich, 1943, no. 726
Basel, Kunsthalle, Édouard Vuillard, Charles Hug, 1949, no. 170 Lausanne, Palais de Beaulieu, Chefs-d’oeuvre des collections suisses de Manet à Picasso, 1964, no. 157, illustrated in the catalogue
Paris, Orangerie des Tuileries, Chefs-d'oeuvre des collections suisses de Manet à Picasso, 1967, no. 142, illustrated in the catalogue

Antoine Salomon & Guy Cogeval, Vuillard, The Inexhaustible Glance, Critical Catalogue of Paintings and Pastels, vol. II, Paris, 2003, no. VIII-100, illustrated in color p. 878

Please contact the Impressionist & Modern department at 212-606-7360 for a condition report prepared by a third-party conservator.
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.
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A founding member of the Nabis movement in the late 1880s, Vuillard was among those artists who celebrated pattern and ornament in art and he was ambitious in terms of incorporating of decorative motifs into his canvases. As the son of a dressmaker he had a head-start in terms of understanding textiles and his paintings reflect a fascination with all kinds of fabrics, particularly the rich colors of the wallpaper and carpets of the haute bourgeoisie. A bright vase of flowers set against muted floral decoration is a conceit he experimented more than once (see fig. 1). In the present work the stack of papers on the worn wooden table and the earthy tones of the ceramic vase emphasize variation in surface texture, while the dynamic angle of the table is typical of Vuillard’s intimate interiors which are often cropped abruptly with some elements partially obscured to create a sense of immediacy.