As well as Master Drawings week in London (8-13 July), there are some major drawings shows in London’s galleries this month. Vuillard is in the spotlight with the publication of Antoine Salomon and Guy Cogeval’s long awaited catalogue raisonné of his work. A major Vuillard show is currently at Montreal and is then heading for Paris and London’s Royal Academy next January, so Wolseley Fine Arts’s exhibition of his pastels and drawings (until 19 July) is very timely. Vuillard was a prolific draughtsman; drawing was for him almost like keeping a journal where he would jot down observations of daily life (above, “Portrait de Annette”, 1920s). This show covers a huge range of date, subject matter and material. Many drawings are little more than quick jottings, such as “Visage de jeune femme” on a scrap of paper which has clearly already been drawn on before. Others, such as “Femme lisant” from 1920, are more carefully finished portrait studies or, as in the case of “Study for Yvonne Printemps”, studies for a later oil painting.
Originally appeared in The Art Newspaper as 'Edouard Vuillard: pastels and drawings, Wolseley Fine Arts'