At the Café c. 1897 - 1899

Édouard Vuillard created this painting "At the Café" with oil paint on cardboard. Vuillard, a French artist, was associated with the Nabis, a group of Post-Impressionist avant-garde artists who aimed to synthesize art and everyday life, elevating the decorative arts to the same level as painting and sculpture. Painted in the late 19th century, this piece captures a scene in a Parisian café, a locus of social life and exchange for the bourgeoisie. Cafés were not only places for refreshment, but stages upon which social identities were performed. Vuillard was interested in the play of light and shadow and how these create an atmosphere that seems both intimate and detached, reflecting a sense of urban alienation. Vuillard’s choices reflect the conservative preferences of the Parisian upper classes. Historians study the social conditions that shape artistic production through archival research and period publications, revealing the complex relationship between art and society.