L’Âge du papier

Painter, engraver, illustrator, writer and art critic, Félix Vallotton (1865-1925) is known for the impact of his compositions, a combination of his decorative instincts and graphic wit. His revival of the woodcut in the 1890s quickly established him in the art and literary circles of Paris, and his talent as a prolific illustrator, especially for the press, spread his fame throughout Europe and as far afield as the United States. He illustrated bestsellers such as Poil de Carotte, by Jules Renard, and contributed to the most fashionable avant-garde periodicals of the time: including, La Revue Blanche, Le Rire, Le Cri de Paris, L’Assiette au Beurre, and Le Canard Sauvage, in Paris, Jugend and Die Insel, in Munich and Berlin, The Studio, in London, The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine, in New York, among others.

This book assembles a number of critical essays and a selection of around 250 reproductions to explore this little-known aspect of Vallotton’s work. It is being brought out to coincide with the online publication of Félix Vallotton illustrateur. Catalogue raisonné (volume 32 in the Catalogues raisonnés d'artistes suisses series, created by Fondation Félix Vallotton, Lausanne, and Institut suisse pour l'étude de l’art, Lausanne/Zurich (SIK-ISEA).

Text in French.

Images:

Bleus d’aujourd’hui, dessin de Félix Vallotton en couverture du Rire, 1^er décembre 1894

Que les chiens sont heureux !, dessin de Félix Vallotton en couverture de Nib, 15 février 1895

Portrait of Stéphane Mallarmé, dessin de Félix Vallotton, The Chap-Book, 15 août 1895

Katia Poletti is the curator of the Félix Vallotton Foundation in Lausanne. She is the author of Félix Vallotton illustrateur. Catalogue raisonné (online) and co-organiser of the Vallotton Forever retrospective (Lausanne, 2025). She previously collaborated on the Félix Vallotton. L'œuvre peint (2005) catalogue raisonné and co-organised several retrospectives of the artist’s work. Sarah Burkhalter is head of Antenne Romande and is on the board of Institut suisse pour l'étude de l’art (SIK-ISEA). She holds a doctorate in art history and, with Katia Poletti, co-directed the SNSF Félix Vallotton illustrateur. Catalogue raisonné (online) research project, of which she is one of the authors. Julien Schuh is a lecturer in French Literature at the University of Paris Nanterre. He specialises in 19th-century literature, the history of the book, the illustrated press, and digital humanities. Marina Ducrey is the author of the three-volume catalogue raisonné Félix Vallotton. L'œuvre peint, which won the 2005 SNA (Syndicat national des antiquaires) art book prize and earned her the title of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres de la République Française. She is now an honorary curator and member of the board of the Félix Vallotton Foundation in Lausanne.