Self portrait, 1885, oil on canvas, by Félix Vallotton
I’ve mentioned Swiss painter and woodcutter Félix Vallotton before here, he is one of the most interesting painters of the early 20th century. Tip of the hat to “Femme, femme, femme“, the blog, for bringing the crouching woman to my attention. The work of Vallotton is plentiful, varied and in the public domain and his edginess foreshadows the palatable work of art deco artist Tamara de Lempicka, and I have reason to imagine that Balthus was not averse to his work.
From my Flickr set:
The “Crouching Woman with Cat” (4th painting from the left) reminded me of the opening “kitty milk” scene in Story of the Eye, the novel by Georges Bataille, which was analyzed by Roland Barthes in his essay, “Metaphor of the Eye”, published within Bataille’s own journal Critique, shortly after Bataille’s death in 1962. Barthes’s analysis centers on the centrality of the eye but also traces a second series of liquid metaphors within the text, which flow through tears, cat’s milk, egg yolks, frequent urination scenes, blood and semen, an analogy which might not be out of place in this painting.
Here are some of your favorites from other Flickr members.
The woman in red is quite strange, the corpse very macabre.
As a final encore, let me give you the work that introduced me to Vallotton:
Abduction of Europe (1908) by Félix Vallotton
Update 22/6/08
Two more of his paintings
Abandon
The “bottom” one represents Icon of erotic art #27 ( IoEA #27),
One of the more beautiful depictions of the female posterior.
I see the similarities to Balthus you mention, but also to Paul Delvaux, Ingres and to the cloisinnistes in the way he handles landscape – Gauguin, in particular the way he flattens and abstracts tonal ranges into discrete shapes. I don’t see similarities with Tamara de Lempicka as she makes machines out of bodies. The woman in red sitting is strange because of the juxtaposition of sexuality with an aggressive homeliness – that is quite provoking of consideration. G
What a brilliant painter and unusual style! My favourite is his 3 women, which puzzles me, because I see four! The composition and colours are wonderful. Thanks for sharing, Erika
I was sent this postcard years ago- a distant love affair unrequited.
http://static.flickr.com/52/147167692_919a80540a_o.jpg
It’s Felix Vallotton – High Tide at Houlgate
My website doesn’t seem to want to appear!
Suburban,
About the Tempicka likeness, it is most apparent in my opinion in the styling of the hair in The Rape of Europe (below), thought the comparison might be far-fetched.
Erika, Raymond, thanks for your comments, Raymond, the postcard is lovely.
Jan