Dinnertime
Édouard Vuillard
French, 1868–1940
c. 1889
An oil painting in which Vuillard aims to evoke the hushed, ritual quality of a household dinner by leaning on close cropping, muted color, and suggestive brushwork rather than detailed storytelling.
What hits you first is the small, warm candle glow that barely lights faces and a patterned tablecloth while most of the room collapses into rich, velvety shadow so figures and objects seem to meld into a single, intimate atmosphere.
As a work by a leading Nabi, it helped shift late‑19th‑century painting toward subjective interiors and decorative abstraction, showing how mood, pattern, and everyday ritual could be the subject of modern art.
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
28 1/4 x 36 3/8" (71.8 x 92.2 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Sam Salz and an anonymous donor
Accession
101.1961
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
