The Kitchen 1891 - 1892

Édouard Vuillard painted this intimate scene of ‘The Kitchen’ using oil on cardboard. What’s so fascinating here is that Vuillard employed a traditional medium to capture the essence of modern, everyday life. Notice how the rough texture of the cardboard support peeks through the paint layers. It lends a sort of gritty realism to the image. Vuillard was part of the ‘Intimist’ movement, artists who turned their attention to domestic scenes, making the ordinary seem extraordinary. The artist has created an image where labor is implied and alluded to, but not directly represented. Consider all the unseen labor that goes into maintaining a kitchen, then and now. By depicting this space with such care and attention to material detail, Vuillard elevates the status of the domestic sphere. The focus isn’t on grand historical narratives, but on the quiet dignity of daily life, challenging our notions of what is worthy of artistic representation.