Although he produced some of his most important work in Paris in the 1890s in painting and print, his original and innovative approach persisted throughout his career. Swiss artist Félix Vallotton (1865–1925) was born in Lausanne, but spent much of his working life in France. Texts by leading authorities on the artist look at his life, work and reception. Generously illustrated throughout with the finest of his paintings and prints, this book accompanies a new presentation of Vallotton’s oeuvre in New York and London that includes works never before seen in public and aims to reevaluate his output and legacy. As his work evolved, the sharp realism and cool linearity of his later style made him one of the most distinctive artists of the early 20th century. His paintings and woodcuts offered witty and often unsettling observations of domestic and political life, and he is now considered one of the greatest printmakers of his age. Like his Nabis brethren douard Vuillard and Pierre Bonnard, Vallotton was actively. Vallotton adopted their decorative painterly language, also sharing their interest in journalistic illustration and Japanese ukiyo-e prints. Flix Vallotton depicted audiences in the theater and in the street. Into this dynamic world arrived the 16-year-old Félix Vallotton, who became closely involved with a group of artists known as the Nabis, which included Pierre Bonnard and Edouard Vuillard.

Artists were seen by many as the avant-garde of a new society. Impressionism had transformed the visual arts and post-impressionism was flourishing in its wake new boulevards and parks had modernized the city theaters and department stores provided endless opportunities for entertainment and consumption. By the end of the 19th century, Paris was the unrivaled capital of the Western art world.

Félix édouard vallotton