You’ve got less than a week to get to this magnificent exhibition at the Grand Palais devoted to Felix Vallotton. “Le feu sous la glace” brings together some 170 works by this early 20th-century Swiss painter. A multi-faceted artist who doesn’t fit into any artistic box, his paintings are highly personal. The exhibition will close on Monday, January 20, 2014.
Born in Lausanne in 1865, he arrived in France at the age of 16. After studying at the Académie Julian, he quickly established an international reputation. Straddling two centuries, Félix Vallotton’s style was highly avant-garde. He died in Paris in 1925, leaving behind some 1,700 paintings.
Self-portrait at age 2o
This retrospective at the Grand Palais divides Félix Vallotton’s paintings into 10 themes. Nudes, still lifes, landscapes and scenes of everyday life: the subjects are exhaustive. He drew his inspiration from watching others live. This contemplation can be likened to voyeurism, as he enters into the intimacy of characters. In particular, the intimacy of women, his favorite subject. He also portrays a very misogynistic view of women, and likes to play on the ambiguity that exists in relationships between men and women. His portraits of women are not all physically or morally advantageous. Indeed, many of his paintings suggest a vision of women as perverse, manipulative beings. In addition to his paintings of women, Felix Vallotton also tackled other subjects, such as the 1st World War, which closes the exhibition. The artist’s lesser-known canvases take us into a darker world.
Autumn
The white and the black
Verdun
Color and light structure Felix Vallotton’s works. He dares bold color combinations that illuminate his paintings and make them special. His paintings, especially his landscapes, use geometric forms. Lines and curves criss-cross the paintings, skirting around the figures to highlight them. The result is an impression of relief. Felix Vallotton improvised as a landscape artist, bringing a realistic aspect to his canvases through depth and perspective.
Moonlight
Sunset, high seas, blue-grey.
The ball
More than a painter, he also distinguished himself as an engraver. Several series of his woodcuts are on show. The themes of his engravings are the same as those of his paintings, but color is abandoned in favor of black and white. Félix Vallotton was an eclectic man, as he also practiced photography. He used to take photos of his subjects before reproducing them in paint. One room in the exhibition plays on the parallelism between his photographs and his paintings.
The beautiful pin
The load
The night
Spread over two floors, this is a remarkable and rich exhibition. It highlights the multiple facets of the painter and his subjects of inspiration. A style sometimes smooth and cold, but animated by color. The questions and mysteries raised by the paintings are representative of Félix Vallotton’s personality.
The theater dressing room, the gentleman and the lady.
Cette publication est également disponible en :
