Monday, November 28, 2022

Artist of the Day, November 28, 2022: Félix Vallotton, a Swiss artist (#1716)

Félix Vallotton (1865-1925) was a Swiss and French painter and printmaker associated with the group of artists known as Les Nabis. He was an important figure in the development of the modern woodcut. He painted portraits, landscapes, nudes, still lifes, and other subjects in an unemotional, realistic style

In his early years he became interested in portrait painting. He occasionally returned to Switzerland, where he painted landscapes in the region of Vaud. In Paris he became interested in the art of engraving. Two of his etchings were inspired by Jean-François Millet and Rembrandt.

In 1891, he produced his first woodcuts and presented ten paintings in his debut at the Salon des Indépendants. Around this time, he was initiated into the Nabis, along with Édouard Vuillard, Paul Sérusier and Bonnard. The Nabis, which translates as the “Prophets,” based their style, subject matters, and techniques on the works of Paul Gauguin, Vincent Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec, and others. The Nabis merged these separate styles into a single defined style that was later taken up by famous artists like Cézanne and Matisse.

Vallotton continued his woodblock engraving, and in 1892 the magazine l’Art et l’ Idée printed an article full of praise for his work. A good example of the Nabis style is the portrait of Puvis de Chavannes, dated 1898, a posthumous tribute to the controversial symbolist painter. He made his living at this time from producing illustrations for books and magazines, but also earned money by undertaking custom portraits.

In 1893, Vallotton presented an exhibition at the Salon des Indépendants which included his work “On an Autumn Afternoon.” This work, which is currently displayed by the Kunstlerhauss museum in Zurich, is an excellent example of how Vallotton developed a style of painting that transferred woodcut techniques to oil on canvas. He exhibited with the Nabis in the Ambroise Vollard Gallery in Paris in 1897 and two years later in the Durand Ruel in the same city. In 1900, he obtained French nationality.

An important milestone in his career was the exhibition of a dozen of his paintings in Vienna in January 1903, which won the praise of Ferdinand Hodler and Gustav Klimt. In 1909, Vallotton participated in the foundation of the Acádemie Ranson with Vuillard, Bonnard and others.

It was a period of commercial success for Vallotton. However, the First World War had repercussions on their sales and caused financial problems. Vallotton produced several works inspired by the conflict. He went to live in Cagnes-sur-Mer in the winter of 1920. In November 1925, he was hospitalized and died after an operation for cancer. A foundation for the study and promotion of the art of Vallotton was established in Lausanne in 1998.

© 2022. All content on this blog is protected by international copyright laws All images are copyrighted © by Félix Vallotton or assignee. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained. All images used for illustrative purposes only 

Félix Vallotton
 Self-portrait at 20 years old, 1885
 Haut de Forme, 1887
The Sick Girl,  1892
Waltz, 1893
Street Scene in Paris, 1895
La Chambre rouge, 1898
Les planches, 1899
The Ball, 1899
The Visit, 1899
Mujer peinándose, 1900
 Place Clichy, 1901
Portrait of Charles Baudelaire, 1901
The port of Honfleur at night, 1901
The Way to Locquirec, 1902
Woman in blue looking in a closet, 1903
Three Women and a Little Girl Playing in the Water, 1907
The Provincial, 1909
 Femme noire assise de face, 1911
Honfleur dans la brume (Honfleur in the Mist), 1911
Blooming Fields, 1912
Nude, 1912
La Blanche et la Noire, 1913
 Self-portrait, 1914
 War (Study) 1915
 Le Bois de la Gruerie et le ravin des Meurissons, 1917
 Landscape, 1918
 The Ham, 1918
La plage à Honfleur, 1919
 Aïcha, 1922
Self-portrait, 1923
 Roumanian in a Red Dress, 1925


No comments:

Post a Comment