Being pressed by Roussel, one of his fellow students at the Lycée Condorcet, Edouard Vuillard attended the École des Beaux-Arts and took part in the class of jean-Léon Gérôme. During that period he frequented the Louvre, concentrating on studying the work of Raphael, Rembrandt, Titian, Jan Vermeer and Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin. In 1888 Vuillard and Roussel switched to the Académie Julian, where they met with Denis, Bonnard, Ibels, Vallotton, Ranson and Sérusier. From 1890 Vuillard was also present at 'Nabis' sessions on a regular basis. Maurice Denis and Pierre Bonnard were also members of this group of young artists. Vuillard began to exhibit with the 'Nabis' and the group gained first approval of art critics. Inspired by Paul Gauguin's paintings, Japanese woodcuts and George Seurat's pointillist approach to Neo-Impressionism, Vuillard went through an experimental phase which ultimately led to his developing a mature style of his own. It is distinguished mainly by an pronounced bias towards the ornamental, with colour playing a formative role. Vuillard also toyed with the idea of the Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art), which entailed incorporating painting in architecture. Further, Vuillard was a leading light in the revival of the graphic arts in the 19th century. Initially finding his subject matter in his immediate surroundings, he captured intimate glimpses of family and friends in their domestic environment. After 1900, however, he turned to representing the stylishly elegant world of Parisian high society. Since 1903 Vuillard regularly exhibited at the Galerie Bernheim jeune as well as sporadically at the Salon des Indépendants and at the Salon d'Automne, which he co-founded. He spent the summer months in Brittany and Normandy. In 1040 Vuillard fled from the forces advancing Paris and died soon afterwards in La Baule on 21 June. His works are shown world-wide in important museums, in 1977 his work was honoured with an exhibition at the Seibu Museum in Tokyo and in 1990 a retrospective took place at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Lyon.