FÉLIX VALLOTTON (1865-1925) L'ART NOUVEAU / EXPOSITION PERMANENTE. Circa 1896.
23 1/2x17 1/4 inches, 59 1/2x43 3/4 cm. Lemercier, Paris.
Condition B+: repaired tears and skinning at edges; light creases in margins and image; minor abrasions and offsetting in image. Mounted on Japan.
The Art Nouveau movement derived its name from Samuel Bing's gallery l'Art Nouveau, which opened in Paris in 1895. Bing's contribution to the art world was widely acknowledged during his lifetime; he was even given his own pavilion at the 1900 Paris World's Fair. Felix Vallotton, who had been a student at the Academie Julien and a member of the Nabis art group, was well known within the circle of the Revue Blanche. In his early years he specialized in monochromatic wood block prints and then started painting. In 1896, Bing commissioned Bonnard, Ibels, Toulouse-Lautrec and Vallotton to design stained glass windows that were ultimately realized by Tiffany and installed in his gallery. It was likely at this time that he also asked Vallotton to design this small poster. The design is a very simple and sensitive, stylized vegetal motif. It is an extremely Rare document of both historical importance and artistic merit. Rademacher p. 41, Schindler 41, Muller-Brockmann 30, Art Nouveau p. 10, DFP-II 861.