La Barrière blanche aux Clayes c. 1932 - 1938

Édouard Vuillard made *La Barrière blanche aux Clayes* with pastel, a medium consisting of powdered pigment, and a binder, rolled into sticks. Unlike oil paint, pastel doesn’t blend easily; it’s all about laying down strokes. Look closely and you can see how Vuillard used a flurry of marks to conjure the scene. He really coaxes the subtle gradations of the light. Notice how he uses these strokes of white in particular, to create the illusion of sunlight filtering through the foliage. You can imagine him working en plein air, outdoors, trying to capture the scene as directly as possible. While the pastel medium may seem straightforward, this seemingly simple work embodies a sophisticated, and even radical sensibility. It flies in the face of academic painting. Instead of the grand statement, Vuillard has given us the quiet, intimate poetry of everyday experience. That’s what makes his art so compelling.