Portrait of Madame Marie des Jardins Fontaine 1901

Édouard Vuillard created this portrait of Madame Marie des Jardins Fontaine with oil on cardboard. The image offers insight into the social milieu of the French bourgeoisie at the turn of the 20th century. Vuillard, associated with the Nabis movement, often depicted intimate domestic scenes. Here, the sitter is framed by the trappings of her class: artwork, a fireplace, and decorative objects crowd the space. This reflects the values of a society that prized material comfort and status. The loose brushwork and muted palette evoke a sense of quiet introspection, hinting at the psychological complexities beneath the surface of bourgeois life. To understand this work fully, we can look to sources like period journals and exhibition reviews. Vuillard's art provides a glimpse into a specific moment in French history, capturing the values, anxieties, and aesthetic preferences of a particular social class and its institutions.