Felix Vallotton - Houtsnede A very strong man - Sold

Colored woodcut by Félix Édouard Vallotton (1865-1925). He was a Swiss painter and printmaker who became known around 1890 for his satirical illustrations of everyday life in a non-emotional, realistic style. Later he joined the (post-impressionist) group “Les Nabis” with, among others, Vuillard, Bonnard and Denis. In 1898 he married the wealthy widow Gabrielle Rodrigues-Henriques, a sister of the owner of the famous Parisian gallery Bernheim-Jeune. Thanks to this financial security, he no longer had to make illustrations for all kinds of magazines and he could experiment with graphic techniques to his heart's content. He thus became an important figure in the development of modern woodcut technique.
With incredible virtuosity he used the dramatic contrast of black ink on white paper in radically simplified images of the public and private life of the bourgeoisie in Paris. Despite his immense knowledge and skills, he stopped using printing techniques around 1900 and turned to painting.
The offered colored woodcut is possibly related to his theater piece “Un Homme très fort” (A Very Strong Man, 1904), and is monogrammed “FV” in the plate (bottom right) and in pencil at the bottom left. Like most of his prints, this one is not numbered and the edition is therefore unknown. The print is framed without a mat, in a simple wooden frame.