‘La Ravaudeuse’ comes from one of Vuillard’s greatest subjects: the seamstress for which the inspiration was his mother, Marie Vuillard, who became his most important muse. She was a corset maker who turned the living room of their rue Saint-Honoré family home, into her workshop. Through her, Vuillard was given an unparalleled insight into this world where he was close yet also removed, building a unique understanding and perspective of this private space predominantly occupied by women.

Vuillard painted ‘La Ravaudeuse’ at the height of his Nabis period, with the painting an exemplar of the movement’s emphasis on flatness and ornament. Adopting the Nabis principles, Vuillard celebrates pattern in the Madame Vuillard’s dress, while simultaneously highlighting the two dimensionality of the painting’s surface. The subject matter is painted with a similar muted colour palette to that of a number of his other great Nabis works including ‘Woman Darning’ (Musee d’Orsay, Paris), ‘The Green Interior’ (Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, New York) and ‘Interior with Marie bent over her sewing’ (Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven).

‘La Ravaudeuse’ demonstrates Vuillard’s interest in, and understanding of, Japanese prints. The wood blocks had caught the imagination of the Nabis due to their bold design and flatness, with the group regularly meeting to discuss Japanese prints. In 1887 van Gogh had even organised an exhibition dedicated to the medium at café Le Tambourin.

The tondo format of ‘La Ravaudeuse’ is apt for the subject matter both stylistically and practically. The oval shape, probably the bottom of a hat box, is reminiscent of a looking glass, focusing attention on Marie’s hands in the centre of the composition. The small format, like that of Vermeer’s diminutive domestic scenes, is reflective of Vuillard’s intimiste style in which the painting is imbued with a quiet power and familiarly.

‘La Ravaudeuse’ has an illustrious provenance, having first been the collection of his friend, Louis-Alfred Natason who founded La Revue blanche alongside his brothers Alexandre and Thadée. ‘La Revue blanche’ was a Parisian art and literary magazine which had contributions from such writers as Marcel Proust and Félix Fénéon. Natason was a great champion of Vuillard and the Nabis work.