La Paresse

I first saw this at the Ackland, in Chapel Hill, NC. It was labeled Indolence and I loved it at once.

It's a woodcut by Felix Vallotton, a Swiss born artist working in Paris in the late 1800's and early 1900s. Loving this led to a search for more work by Vallotton. Here I include more of the woodcuts, influenced by Japanese prints, which were the rage among the artists of the day.

His paintings (he did thousands of works in oils) are also full of these unusual diagonals and croppings.

But La Paresse remains my favorite. I love the economy of shapes and patterns of white on black. And it captures the lazy moment so well.