Félix Vallotton: An Immersive Exploration of his masterpiece Cinq Heures скачать в хорошем качестве

Félix Vallotton: An Immersive Exploration of his masterpiece Cinq Heures

In the late 1890s, the Swiss artist Félix Vallotton was at the heart of the avant-garde in Paris – and became friends with Vuillard and Bonnard and the other artists of the group Les Nabis. It was during these brief years that the artist produced his most iconic and innovative work. In Cinq heures, Vallotton captures a moment of tense psychological drama. Though the folding screen hints at indiscretion, the couple are far from hidden, but instead illuminated at the centre of the painting. Vallotton developed his graphic aesthetic through printmaking. He created a series of ten wildly popular woodcuts, Intimités, then a series of six paintings of interiors, including Cinq heures. In these works, he presented a biting critique of Parisian upper-class society with the detached eye of an outsider. The title is an ironic reference to what was known as ‘cinq à sept’, the time of day when a husband would visit his mistress before returning home to his wife. With a voyeuristic, almost cinematic lens, Vallotton proves he is a master of narrative suspense and intrigue. Cinq heures is a pivotal painting in the artist’s career, and undoubtedly one of his masterpieces. Félix Vallotton (1865-1925), Cinq heures, 1898. Gouache on board. 14⅛ x 22⅞ in (36 x 58.1 cm). Estimate: £3,000,000-5,000,000. Offered in Masterpieces from the Collection of Sam Josefowitz: A Lifetime of Discovery and Scholarship on 13 October 2023 at Christie’s in London