Square Vintimille 1937

Édouard Vuillard made this etching, Square Vintimille. I can imagine him working on the plate, pulling the image into being from a series of lines and marks. The ink is light, almost as though the world is emerging from a mist. Vuillard has a great way of looking down, like he’s on a balcony or something. I guess he could be anywhere, inside or outside, drawing this. The architecture and the organic shapes of the foliage are woven together, merging buildings and vegetation. Look at the balustrade in the foreground. It's a place we could lean on and look out. The park is in the middle of the city and a quiet refuge from the bustle. I can almost feel Vuillard's own calm, quiet focus as he worked, the movement of his hand across the plate. All artists are in an ongoing conversation, like Vuillard here, inking out his thoughts for us to ponder.