La Modiste (The Milliner)

Art Historical Context

Félix Vallotton *La Modiste (The Milliner)* captures a quiet moment of everyday Parisian life in 1894. Created as a woodcut on wove paper, the print exemplifies Vallotton’s mastery of the medium during his association with the Nabis group. The bold contrasts of black and white, achieved through precise carving of the woodblock, distill the scene into simplified forms that evoke both intimacy and modernity. At the turn of the century, Vallotton helped revive woodcut as a serious artistic technique, drawing inspiration from Japanese ukiyo-e prints popular in Europe. His choice of subject—a milliner at work—reflects the era’s fascination with urban trades and women’s labor, rendered without sentimentality. The modest plate size (roughly 7 by 9 inches) invites close viewing, highlighting the artist’s skill in conveying texture and atmosphere through stark graphic means. Acquired by the National Gallery of Art through the Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, this impression preserves the crisp lines and tonal richness typical of Vallotton’s finest prints from the 1890s. It offers visitors a window into both the technical innovation and the social observation that defined his early career.

About the Artist

Félix Vallotton · 1865–1925

Félix Vallotton (1865–1925) was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, into a comfortable middle-class family, and moved to Paris in 1882 to enroll at the Académie Julian, where he studied under the portrait painter Jules Joseph Lefebvre and the history painter Gustave Boulanger. Paris would remain his home for the rest of his life, and he became a French citizen in 1900 following his marriage to the art ...