The illustrious career of Edouard Vuillard (1868-1940) spanned the fin de siècle and the first four decades of the twentieth century. During that time, the French painter, printmaker, and photographer created a large number of extraordinary works. This gorgeous book-the most comprehensive and authoritative study of Vuillard's art to date-presents some hundred works that reveal the full range of his renowned artistic abilities.

In a series of illustrated essays, the authors explore Vuillard's complex and diverse career, which began with his academic training in Paris in the late 1880s. By the early 1890s, Vuillard was painting the innovative and sensual Nabi paintings for which he is best known, characterized by complex patterns and vibrant colors. Vuillard was also beginning to paint provocative interiors and works associated with the avant-garde theater. The book concludes with an examination of Vuillard's sumptuous large-scale decorations, luminous landscapes, and elegant portraits from the last decades of his career as well as a substantial selection of his pastels and prints, in addition to his photographs, many of which have never before been published.

This book is the catalogue for an exhibition on view at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., from January 19 to April 20, 2003, which then travels to the Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal (May 15 to August 24, 2003); the Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, Paris (September 23, 2003 to January 4, 2004); and the Royal Academy of Arts, London (January 27 to April 27, 2004).