Madame Bonnard

1886–1927 · Virkested

Paris

early 1890s

The Natanson brothers and La Revue Blanche

Through his theatre work he meets Alexandre and Thadée Natanson, founders of the cultural review La Revue Blanche, where his graphics appear alongside work by Bonnard, Toulouse-Lautrec and Vallotton; the brothers become his important patrons. Other accounts say they had known each other since the Lycée Condorcet.

December 1895

Shown at the opening of Bing’s Maison de l’Art Nouveau

Displayed at the opening of Bing’s gallery in December 1895 are his series of decorative porcelain plates, with women in modern dress immersed in floral designs, his design for the Tiffany window and the decorative panels made for the Natansons.

late 1890s

A long relationship with Misia Natanson

In the late 1890s begins his long relationship with Misia Natanson, wife of his patron Thadée: he helps her decorate the Natansons’ apartment, paints her often in his decorative panels and regularly accompanies the couple to their country house. Vuillard never married, but women greatly shaped his life and work.

1900

The Nabis part ways and Vuillard’s manner changes

After their exhibition of 1900 the Nabis go their separate ways; Vuillard abandons the close, dark interiors, paints more outdoors in natural light and gradually returns to naturalism, with lighter, deeper interiors and clearer faces.

1900

Meets Lucy Hessel

He meets Lucy Hessel, the wife of a Swiss art dealer, who becomes his new muse: each year she travels with him to Normandy from July to September, advises him, and stays with him until the end of his life despite many rivals and dramatic scenes.