Les Enfants Bassiano 1921

Édouard Vuillard made Les Enfants Bassiano with oil on cardboard. Look at how Vuillard dapples the paint, creating this kind of soft, almost out-of-focus effect, like a memory. It's all about the process; you can almost feel him building up the image, dab by dab. The colors! They're not shouting; they're murmuring. Blues and greens blend with earthy browns. This work feels like a painting of light as much as a portrait. Notice the way the light catches the edge of the girl's dress on the right, or how the foliage feels thick and dense. Vuillard's touch is so light and airy, but the cumulative effect gives you a sense of something solid, something real. The whole scene feels so domestic and intimate. Vuillard reminds me of Bonnard, another painter who captured those quiet moments of everyday life. Both artists remind us that art doesn't have to be loud or grand. It can be found in the simple act of observing the world around us, in the beauty of a passing moment.