Vuillard selected much of his subject matter from the small Paris apartments he shared with his mother. In painting familiar and ordinary objects he often chose unusual angles and compositions, paying particular attention to the decorative possibilities of scenes. Like many of Vuillard’s still-life paintings, this work has a casual air to it, like a snapshot of a room rather than a contrived arrangement of objects set up specifcally for the painting. Although the focus of this painting is the pot of flowers, the stack of canvases on the left of the work confirm that it is a view of the artist’s studio.