Born in 1868, Jean-Edouard Vuillard, painter, engraver, draughtsman and illustrator became one of the famous founding members of the Nabis movement with Pierre Bonnard, Maurice Denis, Aurélien Lugne-Poe and his best friend from his youth, Ker-Xavier Roussel. A painter of intimacy, he became celebrated for his painting of the sweet atmosphere of scenes of everyday life that reveal the omnipresence of his family, with admirable effects of matter. Vuillard used to say that “I do not paint portraits, I paint people at home”, and he has also left us many paintings of the celebrities of his time.

He also made a name for himself in the decorative field with panels for mansions, including the famous Les Jardins Publics triptych. Passionate about avant-garde theatre, and co-founder of the Théâtre de l'oeuvre in 1893, he illustrated books and numerous theatre programmes with black-and-white lithographs. Influenced by the literature of Ibsen, Maeterlinck and Mallarmé, he produced dense, sometimes stifling atmospheres. He was elected a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1938, two years before his death.