Vuillard and the Theater

Vuillard and the Theater is the first exhibition devoted exclusively to the deep and abiding ties between the art of Édouard Vuillard (1868–1940)—a central figure in the Nabi movement—and the diverse world of theater in Paris. As a spectator, director, and scenographer, Vuillard exploited all the possibilities that theater could offer his painting, by choreographing works as scenes, often using his close relatives as protagonists. Comprising approximately 70 paintings and 30 works on paper, as well as theater programs and ephemera from the 1890s to the 1930s—this exhibition offers a fresh re-examination of Vuillard’s entire artistic oeuvre, displaying how theater influenced his unique form of modernism. 

This exhibition is co-organized by The Phillips Collection and the Musée d’Orsay, Paris.

IMAGE: Édouard Vuillard, Yvonne Printemps on Her Sofa, 1919-21, Distemper on cardboard affixed to canvas, 47 1/4 x 31 5/8 in., Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, Museum purchase, Taber Art Fund, 2015.18 © 2026 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York