Edouard Vuillard (1868 - 1940)

The Sewing Box Sold

Oil on paper, laid down onto canvas.
Stamped with the atelier stamp E Vuillard (Lugt 2497a) at the lower right.
371 x 260 mm. (14 5/8 x 10 1/4 in.)

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This vibrant oil sketch, datable to around 1912, depicts a still life of a sewing box in front of a window. A splendid example of Vuillard’s painterly technique, the present work has been described by André Chastel: ‘An open sewing-box by the window on the left, with a thick curtain drawn back on the right. The composition is an exercise, a pretext for juxtaposing broad strokes of colour that bring the artist’s entire palette into play.'

Provenance:
The artist’s studio, Paris
By descent to his sister, Marie, Mme. Kerr-Xavier Roussel, Paris
Charles-Auguste Girard, Paris
Pedro Centeno Vallenilla, Caracas, Venezuela
Maxwell Davidson III, New York
Anonymous sale, New York, Parke-Bernet Galleries, 9 Nov 1967, lot 108
Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby’s, 13 April 1972, lot 42
Maurice Laffaille, Paris
Anonymous sale, Paris, Palais Galliera, 7 June 1973, lot S (as 'Coin d’atelier')
Private collection, until 2008.

Literature:
Antoine Salomon and Guy Cogeval, Vuillard: The Inexhaustible Glance. Critical Catalogue of Paintings and Pastels, Milan, 2003, Vol.II, p.1053, no.IX-48, where dated c.1912 (as location unknown).