Description

Vuillard depicted close family members in this intimate domestic scene. The woman at the lower right corner of the composition is his mother, Marie Vuillard. She is tending to a her grandchild, Annette Roussel, the daughter of Vuillard’s sister and her husband, Ker-Xavier Roussel, who was also an artist. The two figures are in the apartment that Vuillard shared with his mother in Paris. Vuillard adopted a particularly steep angle of view in this painting, looking down upon the interaction of the figures. The viewer assumes the position of the artist himself, looking over his mother’s shoulder as she lovingly feeds the baby.

Provenance

Collection of the Artist (1900); (Galerie Bernheim Jeune, Paris, France, March 28, 1900, acquired from the artist) (1900); (Galerie Bernheim Jeune, Paris, France, November 26, 1900, sold to Georges Dusseuil) (1900); Georges Dusseuil [1848-1926], Paris France (1900-1902); (Galerie Bernheim Jeune, Paris, France, May 6, 1902, acquired from Georges Dusseuil) (1902-1903); (Galerie Bernheim Jeune, Paris, France, April 29, 1903, sold to Olivier Sainsere) (1903); Olivier Sainsere [1852-1923], Paris, France (1903–?); by descent to his daughter, Jeanne (Sainsère) Richet [1883–1972], Paris, France (by 1923); by descent to her daughter, Jacqueline (Richet) Souchère [1908–1984], Paris, France (by 1972); by descent to her daughter, Jeanne (Souchère) Gelin, Paris, France (by 1984); Galerie Cazeau-Béraudière, Paris, France (before 2002); (Galerie Hopkins-Custot, Paris, France, sold to Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley) (2002); Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley, Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art (2002–2020); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (2020–)