Red Interior

Red Interior from 1902, now in the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, is characteristic of Vuillard's chromatic interiors at their most intense — the dominant red of the room creating a warm atmosphere that envelops figures and furniture alike. Albert C. Barnes assembled one of the finest collections of Post-Impressionist painting in America, with exceptional holdings of Renoir, Cézanne, and the Nabi artists. Vuillard's reds are never purely decorative; they carry a psychological weight, enclosing the figures in warmth that can feel either nurturing or slightly suffocating.

The dominant red is modulated through variations in tone and texture across different surfaces — the rug, walls, furniture upholstery — each carrying the color differently. Figures are identified by the slight distinction of their colors from the surrounding room, not by clear outline.