This month’s Oculus column features ´Edouard Vuillard (1868-1940), who benefitted from the patronage of Jewish avant-garde artists, theater impresarios, writers and philosophers who supported him throughout his life. As the image illustrates, Vuillard tended toward intimate domestic scenes of family and friends. His  work is infused with intricate wallpaper and upholstery patterns, colored with the warm and intimate hues that speak to home. Lucy Hessel was Vuillard’s muse, model and lover. This painting, “Lucy Hessel Reading,” which is housed in the permanent collection of The Jewish Museum in New York City, is a good example of his approach to painting.

Submitted by Saul Rosenstreich for the Judaism & Art group