Who painted Child Playing: Annette Roussel in a Front of a Wooden Chair?

Child Playing: Annette Roussel in a Front of a Wooden Chair was painted by Édouard Vuillard in 1900.

Where can I see Child Playing: Annette Roussel in a Front of a Wooden Chair?

Child Playing: Annette Roussel in a Front of a Wooden Chair is held by Art Institute of Chicago.

What movement is Child Playing: Annette Roussel in a Front of a Wooden Chair?

Child Playing: Annette Roussel in a Front of a Wooden Chair is associated with Les Nabis.

Artwork

Child Playing: Annette Roussel in a Front of a Wooden Chair

Édouard Vuillard , 1900

Child Playing: Annette Roussel in a Front of a Wooden Chair is an unspecified painting by the Les Nabis artist Édouard Vuillard. It dates from 1900 and is held in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.

About this work

Overview

Édouard Vuillard painted Child Playing: Annette Roussel in Front of a Wooden Chair in 1900. Executed during his involvement with the Nabis, the work captures a quiet domestic moment, focusing on a young girl seated on the floor before a wooden chair within a modestly furnished interior.

Subject & Meaning

The figure is Annette Roussel, a child rendered in a blue‑and‑white checked dress, her short blonde hair framing a concentrated expression as she engages with a toy. The surrounding setting, a floral wallpaper, a red fireplace, and a bed with a pastel‑colored quilt, conveys a sense of everyday intimacy and the private world of childhood play.

Technique & Style

Vuillard employs flattened planes of color and decorative patterning, hallmarks of his Nabis period. The muted palette of earth tones and soft hues, combined with simplified forms and subtle brushwork, creates a cohesive visual rhythm that emphasizes the relationship between figure and interior space.

History & Provenance

Created at the close of Vuillard’s formal association with Les Nabis (1891‑1900), the painting reflects his transition toward more personal, interior subjects. Details of its ownership after completion are not widely documented, but the work remains representative of Vuillard’s early twentieth‑century output.

Context

The piece aligns with the Nabis’ interest in Japanese woodcuts and the decorative arts, evident in its patterned wallpaper and emphasis on surface design. Vuillard’s focus on domestic interiors during this period marked a departure from the more overtly symbolic or mythological themes favored by some of his contemporaries.