Corn Fields

1900

Corn Fields, 1900. Félix Vallotton (French, 1865–1925). Oil on board; unframed: 26.2 x 46.2 cm (10 5/16 x 18 3/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley Collection Gift 2020.115 With the change of the century, Vallotton shifted his focus from printmaking to oil painting. Before 1900, the artist concentrated on precisely reproducing the world around him, but as seen in this painting, Vallotton’s work shows hints of ambiguity. The greenery blends together, and the distant horizon is described in simple curves of hills or clouds that fade into the sky. In 1892, Vallotton joined a circle of French artists known as The Nabis (Prophets) who emphasized decoration, abstraction, and discrete, intimate emotion in their paintings.