Félix Vallotton, Restless as a Black and White

In the Fall of 2025, the Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum in Tokyo will host an exhibition dedicated to the printmaking of Félix Vallotton, a key figure in the European art scene between the 19th and 20th centuries. Born in Lausanne in 1865 and active in Paris for much of his career, Vallotton is known for his dry, cutting style, his membership in the Nabis group, and above all for a graphic production that, blending social satire and psychological anxiety, has left a profound mark on the history of modern art. The exhibition will focus in particular on black-and-white woodcuts, a technique Vallotton began exploring in the 1890s, developing a pared-down language built on strong contrasts and a formal reduction capable of expressing complex scenes with minimal means. The selected works, mostly from Japanese collections, will include some of his most emblematic series -  from the Intimités of 1898, with their ambiguously charged domestic scenes, to the urban views and political panels, in which the tension between realistic observation and symbolic distortion emerges with particular force. Vallotton uses printmaking as a narrative and critical tool: each engraving tells a story, often suspended, suggested rather than made explicit, leaving the viewer to decipher relationships, emotions, and conflicts. The choice of the Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum as the exhibition venue seems particularly fitting, not only because of the museum's focus on 19th-century European art, but also because of the intimate atmosphere and exhibition rigor that characterize the space, housed in a faithfully reconstructed 19th-century building in the heart of the Marunouchi district. The Vallotton exhibition will allow Japanese and international audiences to rediscover an artist who, though well-known to specialists, remains marginalized in major exhibition circuits. It offers a close-up look at a work that combines visual synthesis, expressive power, and social reflection. The exact opening dates will be announced soon on the museum's official website.