Solness le constructeur
1894
Medium
lithograph in black on brown wove paper
Dimensions
sheet: 32.5 x 24.2 cm (12 13/16 x 9 1/2 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of The Atlas Foundation
Accession Number
1995.76.108
Art Historical Context
Édouard Vuillard's *Solness le constructeur* (1894) is a striking lithograph that captures the artist's early experimentation with printmaking during the height of fin-de-siècle Paris. As a key member of Les Nabis—a Post-Impressionist group influenced by Paul Gauguin—Vuillard blended symbolism, pattern, and emotional depth in his work. This piece, rendered in bold black ink on warm brown wove paper, likely draws from Henrik Ibsen's 1892 play *The Master Builder*, reflecting the era's fascination with psychological drama and modern theater. At 32.5 x 24.2 cm, its intimate scale invites close vi...
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...