Maternité. Motherhood. by Édouard Vuillard, 1868-1940

Édouard Vuillard, 1868-1940
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Maternité. Motherhood.

Original lithograph in colours. 1896. Signed in pencil. Numbered in pencil (12) from the edition of 111 impressions One of the first 36 impressions of the 'artist's edition', there were then a further 75 impressions. Printed at the studio of Clot. Commissioned by Meier-Graefe, and issued for the de-luxe editions only of the album Pan,1896 (blindstamp lower left).
Ref: Roger-Marx Vuillard L'Oeuvre Gravé no. 30 iii

Superb fresh impression with excellent rich colours. On pale cream laid japan paper. Excellent original condition; the very faintest suggestion of a mount mark, but not cleaned. Full margins. Sheet: 11 3/8 x 14 5/8ins. Image: 7 5/8 x 9ins (193x228mm)

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?Maternité? is one of the most beautiful studies in the whole of Vuillard?s work in lithography. Filled with a quiet and yet compelling emotion, in the combination of theme, colour, composition and handling it is the epitome of Vuillard?s art of the Nabis period. Although the edition is recorded as a total of 111 impressions, examples only appear on the market very rarely indeed. Only six impressions of ?Maternité? have been recorded at auction in the last 16 years, and of those only two were fully signed proofs from the first ?artist?s edition? as above.

One of the most beautiful aspects of the composition is the way that Vuillard made use of subtly changing viewpoints within the image. Whereas the viewpoint in the foreground, where the patterned tablecloth and the check of the carpet meet, is almost totally flat, as the eye moves into the centre of the composition, across the table to the figure of the mother cuddling her child, so the angle of view moves backwards into more conventional perspective. This change of viewpoint has the effect of drawing the viewer into the composition and heightening the emotional involvement. Together with this manipulation of the viewpoint Vuillard has also exploited the way that contrasts of pattern, often almost arbitrary rather than visually descriptive, can further ?involve? the viewer in the emotion of the theme. ?Maternité? expresses the essence of Vuillard?s Nabis period art.