Felix Vallotton (1865-1925) Femme nue, 1907

Signed and dated «F. Vallotton 1907» (upper right) Label on the reverse of the stretcher «14 Torse...». Oil on canvas 81 x 65 cm (all lots marked with symbol are in free port) This painting was presented in 1908 at the first in the series of «Golden Fleece Salon» exhibitions, organized by the eponymous magazine, a foremost Russian magazine of the time, proclaiming the newest principles of art. This exciting and original exhibition of Russian and French new wave artists became a turning point in the history of twentieth century Russian culture, granting the development of avant garde art in Russia a powerful impetus. The exhibition consisted of more than two hundred works, and two thirds of these were by French artists, covering movements from impressionism and post- impressionism to neo-impressionism, fauvism, and the just emerging cubism (including works by Degas, Pissarro, Cezanne, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Matisse, Derain, van Dongen, Marquet, Rouault etc.). Neo- impressionism was presented in Russia for the first time (Cross, Signac, van Rysselberghe), along with the symbolists of the «Les Nabis» group including Vallotton, Sérusier, Maurice Denis, Roussel, Vuillard and Bonnard. They were very much respected by the early «Miruskusniki»- «Mir Iskusstva» (in Russian: «The World of Art») was a Russian magazine and an artistic movement (1898-1927). The exhibition had a huge impact. The catalogue was released in Moscow (1908), but that was not enough. Paintings by the French artists, and photographs of the exhibition hall, 94 images in total, were printed in three issues of the «Golden Fleece» magazine (1908. No. 7-9). Thanks to this, today it is still possible to see how these artworks were first presented to their contemporary audience. Literature: Tretyakov Gallery, Zolotoe Rouno, La Toison d'or, Exhibition catalogue, Moscow, 1908, illustrated p. 61, Hedy Hahnloser-Bühler, Félix Vallotton et ses amis, Livre de Raison, Paris 1936, p. 290, No 626, "Torse de femme nue sur fond paravent bleu (T. 25)", Natalia Valentinova, Félix Vallotton et la Russie, in: Articles on art and art history in 1900, Zurich, Swiss, Institute of Art History, 1984-1986, 1986, p. 85, illustration 2, Margrit Hahnloser-Ingold, in Félix Vallotton entre reconnaissance et contestation. Le rôle des critiques et des collectionneurs, New Haven 1992, illustration 301, Marina Ducrey, Félix Vallotton, 1865-1925, L'oeuvre peint, catalogue raisonné, Lausanne 2005, p. 376, No. 619 (illustrated in black and white). Exhibited: Tretyakov Gallery, Zolotoe Rouno, La Toison d'or, Moscow, 1908, No. 176 ("Femme nue") Provenance: Druet, Paris (acquired from the artist in 1909), J. Rodrigues-Henriques, Paris Charles Pomaret, Paris-Nice, Private collection