La Place Vintimille by Edouard Vuillard

Place Vintimille by Edouard Vuillard
Edouard Vuillard, Place Vintimille, 1911, five-panel screen, distemper on paper laid down on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Enid A. Haupt 1998.47.1

Camille Pissarro, Boulevard des Italiens, Morning, Sunlight, 1897, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Chester Dale Collection 1963.10.198

Vuillard explored sunlit themes at the turn of the century. Compare Place Vintimille to Camille Pissarro's easel painting, Boulevard des Italiens of 1897, to observe similarities to impressionism in Vuillard's image.

While it is autumn rather than spring in Boulevard des Italiens, Vuillard used the same high vantage point as Pissarro, creating a panoramic view of the busy street below. The viewer looks down through the trees to the façades across the avenue, and at the bustling activity of people and horse-drawn carts.