Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00009709André Bénac
About the Artwork
Vuillard belonged to the artistic movement called The Nabis, the Hebrew term for prophet. The Nabis banded together in the late 19th century to create a new artistic language based upon the expressive potential of decorative color and stylized forms. Vuillard's success as part of this group encouraged wealthy patrons to seek his services, but for more realistically rendered portraits. The present piece was requested by the Compagnie Parisienne de Distribution d'Éléctricité, the Paris company for which the sitter, André Bénac, was president. The commission was made to commemorate Bénac receiving the Grand Croix, the highest award of the Legion of Honor. Vuillard made two versions of the portrait-this one meant for Bénac and another one, now in Zurich, Switzerland, (see photo), to remain the property of the company. In each case, the sitter appears in his living room/office, and he holds an identical pose, showing the same warm, friendly smile. However, in the museum's portrait, Vuillard omitted a significant portion of the surrounding room and altered the format from horizontal to vertical. The viewer can focus more easily upon the man represented because the diagonal of the table has been cut closer to the sitter and no longer leads the eye away toward the window. Photo of: Vuillard. André Bénac, 1935-36; distemper on canvas; 51 in. x 61 1/2 in. Fondation Rau pour le Tiers-Monde, Zurich.
Inscriptions
Signed lower right: E. Vuillard 1936
Provenance
André Bénac, until his death in October 1937. His widow, Mme Bénac, until 1945. Their daughter, Mme Caudrelier-Bénac, and her husband. Louis Caudrelier-Bénac, their eldest son. London sale, Sotheby's, 7 April 1976 (70, repr.), Homme assis à son bureau, for £2,200 to William Pall, U.S. Gary Katz, Cleveland. Through Mitchell Shaheen (Brett Mitchell Coll., Inc., Lyndhurst, Ohio), on loan to the cma in 1977 as promised gift. Bought by Mr. and Mrs. Paul Kaminsky, North Royalton, Ohio, 1980. Given to the CMA in 1981.
Exhibition history
The Year in Review for 1981. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 17-March 21, 1982). Monet to Dalí: Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 21, 2007-January 13, 2008).
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Édouard Vuillard (French, 1868–1940)
- Date
- 1936
- Medium
- oil on fabric
- Dimensions
- Unframed: 124 x 96.8 cm (48 13/16 x 38 1/8 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- Modern European Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Kaminsky
- Accession no.
- 1981.63
More by Édouard Vuillard in museum collections
Open-access museum record · AT-00009709
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