Foliage—Oak Tree and Fruit Seller

Lush vegetation dominates this view from a window of Edouard Vuillard’s summer residence outside Paris, with the sturdy trunk of an oak tree bisecting the scene. Instead of oil paint Vuillard used distemper, a mix of dry pigment and melted glue. With this medium he created a textured surface with myriad nuanced colors to evoke a tapestry-like wall decoration.

Vuillard belonged to the generation of artists after the Impressionists, known broadly as Post-Impressionists. Impressionism’s continued influence can be seen here in the loose brushstrokes, the use of color to evoke light and atmosphere, and the subject of women and children in a garden.