Foliage—Oak Tree and Fruit Seller

This large, tapestry-like canvas depicts the lush view from the second-story window of the artist’s vacation home near Versailles, France. Using a limited palette of greens and yellows with pops of lavender, Vuillard achieved a remarkable range of textures and tonalities, from the sunlit tree bark to the velvety foliage deep in the shadows. The visually dense composition vibrates in the eye and envelops the viewer. In order to enhance the painting’s decorative qualities, Vuillard mixed dry pigment with melted glue, a technique called distemper. This creates a tactile, tufted surface that differs greatly from the slick aesthetic of traditional oil painting.