The living room with three lamps, rue saint-florentin

Painted in distemper (glue-based tempera) in 1899 and now at the Musée d'Orsay, this large decorative panel depicting a lamplight interior on the rue Saint-Florentin represents Vuillard's ambitions for monumental domestic decoration. Distemper — favoured by Vuillard for its matte, chalky surface qualities — was his preferred medium for the large decorative panels commissioned by bourgeois patrons throughout the 1890s and 1900s. The rue Saint-Florentin address was that of Thadée and Misia Natanson, among Vuillard's closest patrons and social circle. Three lamps structure the composition, their warm pools of light organising the figures and furnishings in a rhythmic sequence across the picture surface.

Distemper produces a flat, powdery surface of muted golds and warm umbers. Lamplight pools are rendered as soft circles of warmth rather than optical naturalism. The figures merge into patterned wallpaper and upholstery with characteristic Vuillard compression.