Images From A 1898 Book Of Felix Vallotton’s Beautifully Stark Woodcuts

Felix Vallotton's deceptively simple woodcuts hint at forbidden love and burning social injustice

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

 

Félix Vallotton (December 28, 1865 – December 29, 1925), the Swiss-born artist naturalized as a French citizen in 1900, was a  painter of luxurious sunsets and a printmaker, notably working with woodcuts. He was influenced hugely by Japanese woodcuts – an exhibition of ukiyo-e prints had been presented at the École des Beaux-Arts in 1890. Vallotton, like many artists of his era, including Vincent Van Gogh, was an enthusiastic collector of Japanese prints.

These Vallotton woodcuts illustrate the book Félix Vallotton; Biographie by German novelist and art critic Julius Meier-Graefe (June 10, 1867 – June 5, 1935), published in 1898 by Edmond Sagot and J. A. Stargardt of Berlin and Paris, respectively. They deal with the everyday,  social unrest and anarchistic violence, and intimate love scenes.  And they are beautiful.

 

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

The Shower

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

The Demonstration

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

Laziness

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

Anarchist

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

Suicide

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

Little Girls

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

The Stranger

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

Murder

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

The Paris Crowd

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

Poker

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

The Funeral

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

Patriotic Duty

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

Bon Marche

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

A Gust of Wind

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

A Fine Evening

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

The Evening Out

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

A Tight Spot

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

The Execution

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

The Shower

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

Intimicies

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

The Shower

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

The Demonstation

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

Laziness

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

Anarchist

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

Suicide

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

Little Girls

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

The Stranger

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

Murder

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

The Paris Crowd

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

Poker

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

The Funeral

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

Patriotic Duty

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

Bon Marche

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

A Gust of Wind

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

A Fine Evening

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

The Evening Out

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

A Tight Spot

Felix Vallotton woodcuts

The Execution

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