Women Meeting in the Shade

Roussel was a founding member of the French avant-garde group known as the Nabis (prophets) and the brother-in-law of fellow member Édouard Vuillard. Roussel shared their fascination with Japanese prints and developed a style of radically simplified forms and strong, decorative color. His intimate views of daily life convey a mood of quiet feeling rather than focusing on narrative, storytelling content. This painting depicts a group of figures, presumably two women and four children, meeting in the shade of tall trees, while other figures walk along the grassy riverbank.