Nude Combing Her Hair

Félix Vallotton's "Nude Combing Her Hair" from 1916 exemplifies his later period, where he concentrated on painting highly finished portraits and nudes after largely abandoning printmaking around 1901. Associated with Les Nabis in the 1890s, Vallotton was known for his unemotional, realistic style, a characteristic visible here. While his earlier Nabi works featured flat areas of color and simplified detail, this painting shows a return to a more meticulous and refined approach, reminiscent of the masters he admired early in his career, like Ingres. This work fits into his broader oeuvre of nudes, which often depict women in intimate, unidealized moments, reflecting a quiet observation rather than overt drama. Vallotton's consistent exploration of the human form throughout his career, from his stark woodcuts of bathers to these more painterly canvases, underscores his fascination with the subject, rendered with his distinctive blend of realism and detachment.