Édouard Vuillard (French, 1868-1940). Full-length self-portrait, circa 1900. Oil on board laid on canvas. 30-1/4 x 19-1/...

Description

Édouard Vuillard (French, 1868-1940)
Full-length self-portrait, circa 1900
Oil on board laid on canvas
30-1/4 x 19-1/2 inches (76.8 x 49.5 cm)
Indistinctly stamped and inscribed lower right: E. Vuillard / 371

Property from the Collection of Mrs. Henry Ford II

PROVENANCE:
Estate of the artist;
Comtesse de Maistre, Paris;
Galerie Renou et Poyet, Paris;
Cadby-Birch Gallery, New York, by 1952;
Larry Aldrich, New York, by 1959;
His sale: Parke-Bernet, New York, October 30, 1963, lot 21;
Henry Ford II, London and Palm Beach, Florida, acquired from the above;
Thence by descent.

EXHIBITED:
Cadby-Birch Gallery, New York, "Vuillard," September-November, 1952, no. 9;
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia (and elsewhere), "Paintings and Sculpture Collected by Mr. and Mrs. Larry Aldrich," January-April, 1959, no. 56.

LITERATURE:
Cadby-Birch Gallery, New York, Vuillard, exhibition catalogue, 1952, no. 9, illustrated on the cover;
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia, Paintings and Sculpture Collected by Mr. and Mrs. Larry Aldrich, exhibition catalogue, 1959, illustrated;
Apollo Magazine, London, vol. 19, no. 78, September 1963, p. 47, illustrated;
A. Salomon & G. Cogeval, Vuillard: The Inexhaustible Glance, Critical Catalogue of Paintings and Pastels, vol. II, Paris, 2003, p. 682, no. VII-290, illustrated in color.


"Aside from a youthful watercolor and a handful of caricatures of himself, this is the only full-length self-portrait in Vuillard's oeuvre. The artist, actually rather short in real life, exaggerates his stature here. His newly acquired status as a painter to the rich gives him an air of self-confidence. The setting is generally considered to be Amfréville, but the furniture seems too elegant for a country house in Normandy. In a contemporaneous drawing...the artist depicts himself as a dandy (wearing a jacket and hat of, for him, unwonted elegance) reflected in a wardrobe mirror. The surroundings hinted at in the sketch seem to confirm those of the canvas. In both works Vuillard, who is known to have exasperated his female admirers...by going about in a threadbare jacket and trousers all but worn through at the knees, has some fun at his own expense." - Salomon & Cogeval, 2003, p. 682.


More information about Édouard Vuillard. See also: Vuillard, Édouard, Edouard Vuillard, Vuillard, Jean Edouard Artist.

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