Madame V. Sleeping
c. 1892
Medium
brush and black ink
Dimensions
overall (approximate): 24.4 x 31.2 cm (9 5/8 x 12 5/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund
Accession Number
1975.24.1
Art Historical Context
Édouard Vuillard created "Madame V. Sleeping" around 1892, during the early years of his association with Les Nabis, a group of French artists who drew inspiration from Japanese prints and sought to infuse everyday scenes with decorative harmony. This intimate drawing captures a quiet domestic moment, reflecting Vuillard’s lifelong interest in the private lives of women and the subtle poetry of interior spaces. At a time when Paris was embracing both modernism and the lingering influence of Impressionism, Vuillard turned inward, favoring hushed, personal subjects over grand public themes. Exe...
About the Artist
Edouard Vuillard · 1868–1940
Jean-Édouard Vuillard was born on November 11, 1868, in Cuiseaux, Saône-et-Loire, France, to a retired naval captain father and seamstress mother, Marie Vuillard. After his father's early death in 1884, the family settled in Paris, where Vuillard attended the Lycée Condorcet, meeting future Nabis members like Ker-Xavier Roussel—later his brother-in-law—and Maurice Denis. He began formal training i...