Interior of a Bedroom, 1908 Édouard Vuillard, French, 1868-1940 Phoenix Art Museum, 1964-211 Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Donald D. Harrington

The lady in Vuillard's painting looks like she's having a peaceful Sunday afternoon. What is she doing at her table? Perhaps she is reading or writing a letter. I can almost imagine the green framed picture in front of her is a computer monitor, and her peaceful Sunday afternoon matched mine yesterday. Her weather is nice, the cool breeze is coming through the open windows, and at least we now have cool open window sleeping. "Although he was well-acquainted with this woman, Vuillard has painted Lucy Hessel, the wife of his dealer, in an impersonal way. Figure and setting have equal weight and are inseparable in Vuillard's paintings. He was not concerned with the personality or psychological state of the sitter, perferring to paint from memory rather than direct observation. He once stated, "I don't paint portraits, I paint pictures of people in their homes." "The artist creates a sense of space and depth by the tilt of the floor and the angle of the ceiling. The sunlight streaming in from the large windows on the left suffuses the room with light and atmosphere." (From info card)