Doctor Henri Vaquez, Cardiologist

Dr. Jeanette Smith analyzes in the Art of JAMA the work of the French painter Édouard Vuillard who studied at the Académie Julian and the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. It was in Paris Vuillard associated with a group, the Nabis, who were influenced by Paul Gauguin. Vuillard after experimenting with the visualization of hues in nature, eventually he returns to an approach more in keeping with an appreciation for naturalism.

Vuillard’s was drafted in the World War I and served in the region of the Vosges, chronicling conditions of military life.  As life in Europe moved to the post-war era, Vuillard turned increasingly to portrait individuals in common surroundings, as it is seen in The Doctor Henri Vaquez (1860-1936) Cardiologist, in which a group gathers at the bedside of a patient.  In the painting, we observe a physician’s touching the patient’s shoulder, a gesture that conveys caring and reassurance, something senior physicians are familiar with and it is so welcoming to patients and their families. While the patient appears frail there is calmness in the room while a person, a relative or passerby, is seen outside the hospital window. Sunlight filtering in through the window and the autumn leaves are soothing and contribute to a sense of tranquility.

The sentiment seen in Vuillard’s treatment of fellow humans speaks of his respect for the individual, similar to that of physicians who care for their patients in all stages of life, even when they are very sick or terminal in a hospital's room.