Pieds-D’alouette Et Géraniums c. 1906

Édouard Vuillard made this painting, Pieds-D’alouette Et Géraniums, with oil on canvas. You can almost smell the flowers, right? The painting has an all-over feel; the brushstrokes are visible but not labored. It feels like Vuillard painted it quickly, alla prima, wet on wet. The overall palette is muted, with a few brighter accents. But look how those dabs of color create the illusion of form and light. I wonder what Vuillard was thinking as he swirled those colors together. Maybe he was trying to capture the fleeting beauty of the moment, or perhaps he was just enjoying the sheer pleasure of painting. There's a generosity to this work, an open-endedness that invites us to bring our own experiences to the table. Painting is an ongoing conversation between artists, and Vuillard is definitely part of that conversation.