Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Edouard Vuillard (1868-1940), one of the most admired post-impressionist artists, is best-known for his small easel paintings and their charming portrayals of everyday life. However, a major part of his work during his early life was the painting of large decorative panels in the Parisian homes of wealthy private patrons, produced between 1892 and 1912. These panels - some fifty in total - have been little studied, due principally to the inaccessibility of many of them and the impossibility of their being included in exhibitions.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Based on the author's dissertation of the same title (Univ. of Texas at Austin, 1989), this splendid volume deserves the attention of art students and scholars alike. Groom's depth of understanding and appreciation of Vuillard's unique contribution to the decorative arts of the late 19th and early 20th centuries is clearly evident in the authoritative, well-documented text, which thoroughly analyzes Vuillard's major interior commissions from 1892 through 1913. The more than 300 high-quality illustrations elucidate Groom's analyses. Because so few of the artist's works remain in situ, reproduced photographs showing the original installations of some works are of particular interest. Extensive scholarly notes and a selective (but thorough) bibliography conclude the work. Highly recommended for all art collections.-- P. Steven Thomas, Sangamon State Univ., Springfield, Ill. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

This convincing and richly elaborated study traces Vuillard's evolution as a "painter-decorator" over a span of 20 years. Organized chronologically, its ten chapters begin with analyses of his early Nabis projects, which exemplify the antinaturalistic principles advocated by that exclusive coterie of young artists. Fashionable notions regarding the domestic interior as a form of self-expression and other aesthetic inclinations of Vuillard's wealth and cosmopolitan clientele are, among other formative factors, cogently introduced. The author's interpretation of the intricate forces at work within the subtly differentiated social and intellectual milieu of turn-of-the-century Paris is astutely documented with accounts of the colorful personalities involved and the artist's responses to them. Contexts are thereby provided for the ensuing changes of theme, style, and expressive character of the decorative ensembles to follow, which have until now have been largely neglected in favor of the smaller, readily exhibited works known to the museum-going public. A wealth of illustrations, all beautifully keyed to support the text, adds to its value as an addition to the literature on the artist and his period. Copiously documented. Highly recommended. General; upper-division undergraduate through professional. F. A. Trapp; emeritus, Amherst College