La nuit (du 14 juillet ?)

Since 1880 the 14th of July has been France's national holiday, and in the Paris of the 1890s the night belonged to paper lanterns, dancing in the streets and fireworks. The question mark in this picture's title is part of the title itself, as the museum records it. Nobody can say for sure that Vuillard painted that particular night. What he did paint is a dark street under a deep blue sky. A pale moon is caught high among the trees, a tall black house front carries one small patch of red, and a low band of warm yellow lights glows at the far end of the street. The museum dates the panel to around 1895. It is oil on cardboard, oddly narrow, about 29 centimetres tall and only ten wide.