La coutourière 1893 - 1894

Edouard Vuillard created "La coutourière" using lithography to evoke intimacy through its unconventional structure. The composition presents a serene domestic scene dominated by a blue palette, where a seamstress works near a window. Vuillard uses closely-related tones and a textured surface to flatten the pictorial space, challenging traditional perspective. Note the patterned wallpaper, the seamstress's polka-dot dress and the objects scattered around her; they form a network of visual information that blurs the boundary between the figure and her surroundings, inviting the viewer to actively piece together the image. The overall effect is an exploration of how our perception can be fragmented and how art can destabilize conventional ways of seeing. Vuillard's lithograph encourages us to look beyond the immediately visible, engaging with the artwork as a field of potential meanings.