1. Edouard Vuillard, The Little Restaurant (Le petit restaurant), 1894. Impressionism. Oil on paper
board panel, Overall: 19 x 16 1/2 x 3 in. (48.26 x 41.91 x 7.62 cm). Dallas Museum of Art,
Dallas.
Context : Vuillard, largely
interested in drawing the
interiors of petit-bourgeois
Paris, portrays a delightful
everyday scene of a small
family out for a meal at a
restaurant.
It is presumably
Sunday afternoon,
since the light
floods from the
large windows, and
both mother and
father are at leisure.
The family dog is waiting for the
baby to drop some food.
When Vuillard painted this
work, he was twenty-six
years old, and still lived
with his mother. Though
having no children, he
loved his one niece and
painting children.
The overall atmosphere of
the work is warm,
affectionate, and calm.
It was an exception
among Vuillard’s
works in the 1890s
for the setting is a
public rather than a
private place.
However, its focus is
on a rather private
moment of a family
at a restaurant.
Mother holding
her baby
Father
Little daughter
The signature of the
artist
The subject of this small painting is
modest as well; a young family
members dining together.

2. Portrait of an Arhat (Rakan), Japan: Edo period (1615-1868), 17th century, Wood with gesso
decoration, lacquer, and gold. The Roberta Cock Camp Fund and Lillian B. Clark, 1991.381
Realism: It follows the
style of religious
sculptures of Ming
dynasty – the
exaggerated realism.
This style was
transmitted to Japan in
the 17th century with a
new sect of Zen
Buddhism.
Context: Arhat were
Buddhist disciples who
reached a level of
enligtenment equal to that of
the Buddha, but who delayed
buddha –hood to remain
connected to the mundane
world.
This sculpture was one of
500 arhats in a sculptural
set, made for a temple in
Edo (now Tokyo).
Zhen Buddhism (aka.
Obaku Zen in Japan):
Arhat figures were
frequently produced for
veneration in special
chapels, usually in sets of
16, 18, 100, or 500.
Portraitlike portryal:
common in arhat figures
in this period
The figure sits in a casual
pose, with the left leg
folded under and the right
knee raised.
staring thoughtfully at a small lotus
blossom in his left hand
A Mature man, beardless
and head shaven
Lotus: a red-flowered Asian lily. The lotus blossom symbolizes the casualty of the spiritual life.
The sculptor is unknown.

3. Bibilography
• "Dallas Museum of Art - Collections." Dallas Museum of Art - Collections. 29 Sept. 2013
<http://dma.org/emuseum/view/objects/asitem/2154/156/title-desc?t:state:flow=458684c9-8f6b-4e66-a2ff-51f5a02ef0dc>.
• "Document.write(wraptext("Portrait of an Arhat",40));." DMA CONNECT. 29 Sept. 2013
<http://dmaconnect.org/CONNECT/dma_406383>.
• "The Lotus Blossom." The Lotus Blossom. 29 Sept. 2013 <http://www.tientai.net/teachings/pundarika/renge.htm>.
• "View Media." View Media. 29 Sept. 2013
<http://dma.org/emuseum/media/view/Objects/5214370/1686?t:state:flow=99d380e6-7b15-4a73-9224-ec33e9a054cf>.