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Félix Vallotton — Le Bain — Image creditsFélix Vallotton · Le Bain · Wikimedia Commons · CC0 · Félix Vallotton / André Édouard Marty
Félix Vallotton — « Le Bain ». Another work by the artist, chosen as a visual connection to the story.
Félix Vallotton · Le Bain · Wikimedia Commons · CC0 · Félix Vallotton / André Édouard Marty
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Proportional resizing and WebP conversion, without cropping.

Félix Vallotton · 5 min read

The bath that made a Salon laugh

Bathing on a Summer Evening was shown at the Indépendants in 1893 and provoked laughter. Yet this group of bathers gave Vallotton the means for a singular painting in which bodies and setting resist tranquil viewing.

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Félix Vallotton — La Blanche et la Noire — Image creditsFélix Vallotton · La Blanche et la Noire · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Félix Vallotton — « La Blanche et la Noire ».
Félix Vallotton · La Blanche et la Noire · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
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Félix Vallotton · 5 min read

Two women and a gaze that changes place

The White Woman and the Black Woman, painted by Vallotton in 1913, brings repose and vigilance together. Its history in the Hahnloser collection and recent rereadings invite us to examine the relationships the image constructs between two presences.

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Félix Vallotton — La Manifestation — Image creditsFélix Vallotton · La Manifestation · Wikimedia Commons · CC0
Félix Vallotton — « La Manifestation ».
Félix Vallotton · La Manifestation · Wikimedia Commons · CC0
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Proportional resizing and WebP conversion, without cropping.

Félix Vallotton · 5 min read

The crowd running in a single black

The Demonstration of 1893 transforms a Parisian crowd into a construction of silhouettes. Published in L’Estampe originale, Vallotton’s woodcut circulates street agitation with a remarkable economy of means.

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Félix Vallotton — Le Mensonge, dessin préparatoire — Image creditsFélix Vallotton · Le Mensonge, dessin préparatoire · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Félix Vallotton — « Le Mensonge, dessin préparatoire ».
Félix Vallotton · Le Mensonge, dessin préparatoire · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Image source Licence
Proportional resizing and WebP conversion, without cropping.

Félix Vallotton · 5 min read

The lie begins on a preparatory sheet

Before the woodcut, Vallotton prepares The Lie in a drawing. The sheet held in the Musée d’Orsay’s collection lets us follow how an intimate scene becomes a powerful arrangement of blacks and light reserves.

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