3037 - EDOUARD VALLET

EDOUARD VALLET (Geneva 1876–1929 Cressy) Evening in Riod. 1912. Oil on canvas. Signed lower right: ED. VAllET. 91 × 125 cm. Provenance: - Winterthur Insurance Collection, acquired on the occasion of the 1957 exhibition. - Private collection, Winterthur, Switzerland. - Private collection, Switzerland, acquired from the above. Exhibited: - Zurich 1914, March Exhibition, Kunsthaus Zürich, March 8–April 5, 1914, no. 86, as “Hameau en montagne.” - Geneva 1914, Edouard Vallet, Galerie Moos, April 20–May 20, 1914, no. 7, as “Hameau en montagne.” - Pittsburgh 1920, Nineteenth Annual International Exhibition of Paintings, Carnegie Art Institute, April 29–June 30, 1920, no. 336, as “Mountain Village: Valais, Switzerland.” - Zurich 1929, Edouard Vallet Memorial Exhibition, Kunsthaus Zürich, August 25–September 22, 1929, no. 104, as “Evening in Vercorin.” - Geneva 1929, Edouard Vallet Retrospective, Musée d’art et d’histoire, October 26–November 24, 1929, no. 15, as “Soir à Vercorin.” - Basel 1931, Edouard Vallet Memorial Exhibition, Kunsthalle Basel, March 7–29, 1931, no. 46, as “Soir à Vercorin.” - Montreux 1943, Edouard Vallet Exhibition, Casino-Kursaal, April 17–May 16, 1943, no. 8, as “Soir à Hérémence.” - Geneva 1944, Edouard Vallet Exhibition, Musée Athénée, March 11–30, 1944, no. 29, as “Soir à Hérémence.” - Geneva 1953, Edouard Vallet Exhibition, Musée Rath, August 23–September 27, 1953, no. 92, as “Soir à Hérémence.” - Sion 1954, Edouard Vallet Exhibition, Musée de la Majorie, June 25–September 27, 1954, no. 38, as “Soir à Hérémence.” - Winterthur 1957, Edouard Vallet Exhibition, Kunstmuseum Winterthur, August 11–September 22, 1957, no. 8, as “Abend in Hérémence.” - Trubschachen 1966, Swiss Painters: The World of Farmers, June 18–July 10, 1966, no. 255, as “Abend in Hérémence.” - Geneva, Martigny, Chur, and Schaffhausen 1976/77, Edouard Vallet Centennial. Traveling Exhibition, Musée Rath, April 29–May 30, 1976; Manoir, June 13–September 12, 1976; Bündner Kunstmuseum, October 2–November 7, 1976; Museum zu Allerheiligen, November 20, 1976–January 3, 1977, no. 49, as “Soir à Hérémence.” - Martigny 2006/07, Edouard Vallet. L’art d’un regard, Fondation Pierre Gianadda, November 17, 2006–March 4, 2007, no. 42, as “Soir à Riod.” Bibliography: - Exhibition catalog Märzausstellung, Zurich 1914, p. 6, no. 86. - Exhibition catalog Gedächtnis-Ausstellung Edouard Vallet, Zurich 1929, p. 10, no. 104. - Exhibition catalog *Exposition Edouard Vallet*, Geneva 1944, no. 29. - Exhibition catalog *Exposition Edouard Vallet*, Geneva 1953, no. 92. - Exhibition catalog *Exposition Edouard Vallet*, Sion 1954, no. 38. - Exhibition catalog *Ausstellung Edouard Vallet*, Winterthur 1957, p. 10, no. 8. - Nane Bettex-Cailler: “Edouard Vallet 1876–1929,” in: *Les Cahiers d’Art-documents*, no. 116, Geneva 1959, p. 12 (ill.). - 1962 calendar, published by the Schweizerische Unfallversicherungs-Gesellschaft Winterthur, featuring reproductions of paintings by Edouard Vallet, including “Coucher de soleil à Hérémence.” - Exhibition catalog *Centenaire Edouard Vallet. Exposition itinérante*, Geneva, Martigny, Chur, and Schaffhausen 1976/77, p. 45, no. 49 (ill.). - Bernard Wyder and Jacques Dominique Rouiller: *Catalogue raisonné de l’œuvre peint d’Edouard Vallet*, Geneva 2006, p. 529, no. 323 (ill. p. 363). - Exhibition catalog *Édouard Vallet: L’art d’un regard*, Fondation Pierre Gianadda, Martigny 2006, p. 95, no. 42 (ill.). With “Soir à Riod,” painted in 1912, Édouard Vallet created one of the most important works in his oeuvre. At the time, he was living and working with his wife Marguerite in the high-altitude village of Riod above Hérémence. At an altitude of 1,440 meters, largely secluded from the outside world, Vallet found conditions that suited his artistic vision: tranquility, closeness to nature, and an opportunity to focus on the simple routines of daily life. Bernard Wyder identifies the years in Riod as a decisive period in Vallet’s life and work. They also marked his breakthrough in German-speaking Switzerland. His first solo exhibition at the Kunstsalon Wolfsberg in Zurich in 1912 proved an unexpected success. Leading collectors from Basel and Zurich acquired his works. Shortly thereafter, Vallet himself wrote that he had scarcely dared to hope for such a reception. A broad, winding path draws the eye deep into the village, past a fountain, fences, and timber-framed houses. Its bright patches of snow and muted browns and greens give structure to the composition. The houses and contours of the terrain are simplified, their angular outlines contrasting with the sweeping curves of the path. Picturesque detail gives way to the painterly and sculptural qualities of the subject, which Bernard Wyder identifies as central to Vallet’s conception of landscape. Earthy greens, browns, and violets are set agai