Félix Vallotton

Das Motiv des weiblichen Aktes und dessen unterschiedliche Darstellungsweisen begleiteten Félix Vallotton durch seine gesamte Schaffenszeit. Unsere Badende steht mit leicht zur Seite geneigtem Kopf in aufrechter Körperhaltung bis zu ihrem Bauch im Wasser. Sie ist von einer spiegelglatten Wasseroberfläche umgeben. Das kühle Blau des Meeres steht im Kontrast zu den warmen und hellen Gelb- und Rottönen des Himmels. Die fein nuancierten Farben des Äthers evozieren Wärme wie auch Sinnlichkeit. Die vorherrschende Abendstimmung mit dem lichterfüllten Firmament suggeriert durch ihre Atmosphäre etwas Poetisches wie auch Intimes in Verbindung mit der Frauengestalt. Das vorliegende Gemälde zählt zu den eindrücklichsten Aktbildern des Malers.

The motif of the female nude and its different representations accompanied Félix Vallotton throughout his whole creative period. Our bather stands up to her waist in the water, with her head slightly tilted to the side. She is surrounded by the mirror-like surface of the water. The cool blue of the ocean is contrasted by the warm and light shade of the sky. The finely nuanced colours of the heavens evoke both warmth and sensuality. The evening and its light-filled firmament suggest an atmosphere which is both poetic and intimate in conjunction with the female figure. The present painting is among the most impressive nude pictures realised by the artist.

Bernheim-Jeune, Paris
Kunstmuseum, Luzern (Depositum aus einer Privatsammlung, Brüssel), (seit 1945)

München, Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung/Essen, Folkwang Museum, Félix Vallotton, 1995-1996

Livre de raison, Nr. 1257
Franz Jourdain/Robert Rey, Le Salon d'automne, Paris 1926
Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung/Folkwang Museum, Félix Vallotton, Ausstellungskatalog, München 1995
Kunstmuseum Luzern, Sammlungskatalog der Gemälde, Luzern 1983
Marina Ducrey, unter der Mitarbeit von Katia Poletti, Félix Vallotton 1865-1925, l'oeuvre peint, catalogue raisonné, Lausanne/Zürich/Milan 2005, Bd. III, S. 454, Nr. 757, abgebildet (in Farbe)

Not relined. Paint abrasion along the upper edge. Minor spot on the horizontal waterline on the left. To the lower left corner faint trace, probably from humidity. Under UV-light minor retouching to the upper left corner and in the sky above the woman's head. Very good condition
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