The violet hat

Swiss-French painter Félix Vallotton made this portrait in 1907, showing a fair-haired woman wearing a large wide-brimmed violet hat that fills much of the canvas. The framing is close, with the figure shown almost to the waist, and the hat's intense colour becomes the dominant element. The face is rather blank, which draws the viewer's attention to the clothing and to the interplay between the purple of the hat and the pale tones of the skin. The woman seems to be undressing: from the waist up she wears only a corset and a sleeveless undershirt that she is removing. This everyday, somewhat intimate scene is typical of Vallotton, who often worked with sharp outlines and flat areas of colour. The painting is held at Villa Flora in Winterthur, and its interest lies in the restraint of the composition and the contrast between the violet of the hat and the whites and pinks of the underwear.

Painter

Félix Vallotton

Date

1907

Medium

oil paint, canvas

Dimensions

81 × 66 cm

Museum

Villa Flora, Winterthur

Genre

portrait

Depicts

woman, hat

Share:FacebookWhatsApp