Self-Portrait 1888

Édouard Vuillard created this oil on cardboard self-portrait sometime during his career, but the exact date is unknown. Vuillard was a key figure in the Post-Impressionist group called Les Nabis, who believed that art should be deeply personal and decorative. This portrait, with its intimate scale and informal composition, reflects that aesthetic. Vuillard crops his own head close, filling the frame and engaging us directly. The loose brushwork and muted palette create a sense of immediacy, as if we've caught the artist in a private moment. It is interesting to reflect on the institutional backdrop of art education at the time, which was still very much embedded in academic structures. Vuillard and the Nabis were critical of the École des Beaux-Arts. They wanted to break free from the constraints of academic painting and explore new ways of seeing and representing the world. To understand the self-image that Vuillard is creating, we can look at exhibition reviews from the time, as well as biographical material on Vuillard. Approaching the artwork in this way emphasizes the role of art as something that is always contingent on social and institutional context.