Interior with Woman in Red Seen from Behind by Félix Vallotton (Interpretation and Analysis)

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Interior with Woman in Red Seen from Behind
Interior with Woman in Red Seen from Behind
Source: MET Museum
In a recent exhibition, the Metropolitan Museum of Art named French artist Felix Vallotton the painter of disquiet. I think this is a very accurate way to describe Vallotton’s work. There is a quality of directness and authenticity in his work that gives his paintings the ring of psychological truth. While Vallotton’s paintings usually depict everyday scenes of Parisian life, his approach to art adds complexity and challenge to what would otherwise be rather conventional images.

Interior with Woman in Red Seen from Behind is an excellent example of this aspect of his work. It is an unusual and highly original painting. Here, we can see a series of four rooms with the doors open between each room. A woman stands in the second room, facing away from the viewer. It is a strange painting, offering an odd view of an interior space. The viewer can see a glimpse of each room, but the painting only hints at what’s happening in the space. A sliver of a sofa or a bed are all that’s visible, leaving the viewer feeling slightly disoriented.

The painting challenges traditional artistic narrative structure. The woman— the subject of the painting— is facing away. It’s unclear what she’s doing, and the artist gives the viewers no clues about how they should interpret the piece.

Instead, Vallotton simply seeks to capture a moment in time in a way that seems genuine and authentic to him. Interior with Woman in Red Seen from Behind is a freeze-frame of an instant of domestic life, and it feels quite intimate and authentic.

Ultimately, paintings like Interior with Woman in Red Seen from Behind seek to construct moments like these. Here, Vallotton is working to challenge the ways in which paintings create meaning. His work is ambiguous, without a clear message, but that doesn’t mean the is inferior. His work breaks conventions in painting, but, more importantly, he uses that breaks to create new significance.

Disclaimer: I’m not an art historian or an expert on this topic. The above is my opinion, based on my interpretation of my foreknowledge of art and history. If I’ve done any additional research, I’ll note it above.

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