Page 1 / 7
The Swiss Félix Vallotton began studying at a private art academy in Paris at the age of seventeen. As early as 1885 he was represented with three works in the established Paris Salon. At first he was occupied with prints and woodcuts. His artistic existence was marked by financial hardship until he married the wealthy widow Gabrielle Rodrigues-Henriques, daughter of the Parisian art dealer Bernheim. On journeys in the following years he studied the works of famous artists in Holland, Italy and Belgium.
Two years before his first solo exhibition at the Kunsthaus Zürich in 1909, Vallotton painted the portrait entitled "Le chapeau violet". In strong violet shades, the feathered hat dominates the pinned-up blonde hair of a woman who seems to be visibly uncomfortable. Her gaze goes nowhere, is turned inwards, almost dismissively cool. With both hands she holds her light shirt tightly over her left breast. Here the painter clearly presents his impression of the female sex, which he laments as "difficult". Thus the model also seems to elude the artist's wishes, seems emphatically aloof.
Perhaps for this reason Vallotton concentrated on the reproduction of the material. The beautifully designed hat in its strong colours may compensate the viewer for the sitter's undercooled presence. The late paintings reveal a stylistic change, probably due to illness and the near end of life. They are paintings that resemble de Chirico's later surrealist works and already herald magical realism.
The Swiss Félix Vallotton began studying at a private art academy in Paris at the age of seventeen. As early as 1885 he was represented with three works in the established Paris Salon. At first he was occupied with prints and woodcuts. His artistic existence was marked by financial hardship until he married the wealthy widow Gabrielle Rodrigues-Henriques, daughter of the Parisian art dealer Bernheim. On journeys in the following years he studied the works of famous artists in Holland, Italy and Belgium.
Two years before his first solo exhibition at the Kunsthaus Zürich in 1909, Vallotton painted the portrait entitled "Le chapeau violet". In strong violet shades, the feathered hat dominates the pinned-up blonde hair of a woman who seems to be visibly uncomfortable. Her gaze goes nowhere, is turned inwards, almost dismissively cool. With both hands she holds her light shirt tightly over her left breast. Here the painter clearly presents his impression of the female sex, which he laments as "difficult". Thus the model also seems to elude the artist's wishes, seems emphatically aloof.
Perhaps for this reason Vallotton concentrated on the reproduction of the material. The beautifully designed hat in its strong colours may compensate the viewer for the sitter's undercooled presence. The late paintings reveal a stylistic change, probably due to illness and the near end of life. They are paintings that resemble de Chirico's later surrealist works and already herald magical realism.