Félix Vallotton
The Lie
1897
Physical Qualities
Oil on artist's board, 9 7/16 x 13 1/8 in. (24 x 33.3 cm.)
Credit Line
The Cone Collection, formed by Dr. Claribel Cone and Miss Etta Cone of Baltimore, Maryland
Object Number
1950.298
The composition for this painting first appeared in Intimités, an album of ten woodcuts Félix Vallotton created in 1897, which explored the dangers of love and betrayal in romantic and marital life. The artist later produced this small but powerful painting that features a couple locked in an embrace.
Vallotton had been a member of the Nabis, a group of artists working at the end of the 19th century who were inspired by the work of Paul Gauguin and his use of flat areas of pure color with strong outlines. In the 1920s, the Cone sisters began to acquire art from the artist’s brother and dealer, Paul Vallotton. The Cones subsequently bought several of his paintings and prints.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by bequest, 1949; Etta Cone, Baltimore, by purchase, September 5, 1927; Paul Vallotton, Lausanne; Félix Vallotton estate, 1925
Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York, "Felix Vallotton", April 7, 1970-April 25, 1970, no. 39.
Maurice Bloch, Grunwald Graphic Arts Foundation, University of California, Los Angeles, "The Graphic Art of Félix Vallotton", October 24, 1972-November 19, 1972, no. 2. (Published as "Le Mensonge")
Jane Harrison Cone, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "New Dimensions in The Cone Collection", August 9, 1974-September 29, 1974.
Bret Waller, "Artists of la Revue Blanche: Bonnard, Toulouse-Lautrec, Vallotton, Vuillard", Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, NY, January 22, 1984-April 15, 1984, no. 49.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Masterpieces from the Cone Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art", circulated to The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, October 6, 1985-November 24, 1985; Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, December 14, 1985-February 9, 1986.
Sasha M. Newman, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, "Félix Vallotton: A Retrospective", October 24, 1991-January 5, 1992; circulated to The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, January 31, 1992-March 29, 1992; The Indianapolis Museum of Art, April 25, 1992-June 21, 1992; The Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, August 27, 1992-November 1, 1992; Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne, November 21, 1992-January 31, 1993.
Brenda Richardson, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Van Gogh to Matisse: Impressionist and Modern Masters from the Cone Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art", circulated to The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, November 21, 1993-January 30, 1994.
Anne Hollander, The National Gallery, London, "Fabric of Vision: Dress and Drapery in Painting", June 19, 2002-September 8, 2002, no. 59.
Katherine Rothkopf, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Matisse Picasso and the School of Paris: Masterpieces from The Baltimore Museum of Art featuring Selections from the Collection of Etta and Claribel Cone", circulated to The North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, October 10, 2004-January 16, 2005; The Naples Museum of Art, Naples, FL as "Matisse, Picasso and Friends: Impressionism to Surrealism, Masterworks of Painting and Sculpture from The Baltimore Museum of Art", February 5, 2005-May 1, 2005.
Christoph Becker and Linda Schädler, Kunsthaus Zürich, "Félix Vallotton: Idylle am Abgrund", October 5, 2007-January 13, 2008, no. 4; circulated to Hubertus-Wald-Forum at the Hamburger Kunsthalle, February 15, 2008-May 18, 2008.
The Cleveland Museum of Art, "Private Lives: Home and Family in the Art of Nabis, 1890-1900", June 27, 2021-September 20, 2021 circulated to Portland Art Museum (Oregon), October 24. 2021-January 23, 2022.
Maurice Bloch, Grunwald Graphic Arts Foundation, University of California, Los Angeles, "The Graphic Art of Félix Vallotton", October 24, 1972-November 19, 1972, no. 2. (Published as "Le Mensonge")
Jane Harrison Cone, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "New Dimensions in The Cone Collection", August 9, 1974-September 29, 1974.
Bret Waller, "Artists of la Revue Blanche: Bonnard, Toulouse-Lautrec, Vallotton, Vuillard", Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, NY, January 22, 1984-April 15, 1984, no. 49.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Masterpieces from the Cone Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art", circulated to The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, October 6, 1985-November 24, 1985; Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, December 14, 1985-February 9, 1986.
Sasha M. Newman, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, "Félix Vallotton: A Retrospective", October 24, 1991-January 5, 1992; circulated to The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, January 31, 1992-March 29, 1992; The Indianapolis Museum of Art, April 25, 1992-June 21, 1992; The Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, August 27, 1992-November 1, 1992; Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne, November 21, 1992-January 31, 1993.
Brenda Richardson, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Van Gogh to Matisse: Impressionist and Modern Masters from the Cone Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art", circulated to The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, November 21, 1993-January 30, 1994.
Anne Hollander, The National Gallery, London, "Fabric of Vision: Dress and Drapery in Painting", June 19, 2002-September 8, 2002, no. 59.
Katherine Rothkopf, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Matisse Picasso and the School of Paris: Masterpieces from The Baltimore Museum of Art featuring Selections from the Collection of Etta and Claribel Cone", circulated to The North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, October 10, 2004-January 16, 2005; The Naples Museum of Art, Naples, FL as "Matisse, Picasso and Friends: Impressionism to Surrealism, Masterworks of Painting and Sculpture from The Baltimore Museum of Art", February 5, 2005-May 1, 2005.
Christoph Becker and Linda Schädler, Kunsthaus Zürich, "Félix Vallotton: Idylle am Abgrund", October 5, 2007-January 13, 2008, no. 4; circulated to Hubertus-Wald-Forum at the Hamburger Kunsthalle, February 15, 2008-May 18, 2008.
The Cleveland Museum of Art, "Private Lives: Home and Family in the Art of Nabis, 1890-1900", June 27, 2021-September 20, 2021 circulated to Portland Art Museum (Oregon), October 24. 2021-January 23, 2022.
Charles Fegdal, "Félix Vallotton," Paris: Les Éditions Rieder, 1931, pl. 5, ill.
Etta Cone, "The Cone Collection of Baltimore-Maryland," Baltimore: Etta Cone, 1934, p. 26. (Published as "Le Mensonge")
Hedy Hahnloser- Bühler, "Félix Vallotton et Ses Amis," Paris: Éditions A. Sedrowski, 1936, pl. 14, no.25, ill. (Published as "Le Mensonge")
Felix Vallotton, "Livre de Raison," reproduced in Hedy Hahnloser- Bühler, "Félix Vallotton et Ses Amis," Paris: Éditions A. Sedrowski, 1936, p. 283, no. 387. (Published as "Trois petits sujets amoureux")
George Boas, Adelyn Breeskin, and Gertrude Rosenthal, "Cone Collection: A Handbook with a Catalogue of Paintings and Sculpture," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1955, p. 41, no. 117.
George Boas, Adelyn Breeskin, and Gertrude Rosenthal, "Paintings, Sculpture, and Drawings in the Cone Collection," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1967, p. 69, no. 111.
Francois Daulte and Hedy Hahnloser-Buhler, "Felix Vallotton: A Retrospective Exhibition of Paintings, Drawings, Woodcuts, and Engravings," New York: Hirschl & Adler Galleries, 1970, no. 39.
Henry A. La Farge, "Félix the Nabi," "Art News," April 1970, vol. 69, no. 2, p. 49.
Grunwald Graphic Arts Foundation, "The Graphic Art of Félix Vallotton," Los Angeles: The Grunwald Graphic Arts Foundation, 1972, pl. 7, no. 2, ill. (Published as "Le Mensonge")
Bret Waller and Grace Seiberling, "Artists of la Revue Blanche: Bonnard, Toulouse-Lautrec, Vallotton, Vuillard," Rochester, NY: Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, 1984, pp. 52, 77, no. 49, ill.
Brenda Richardson, "Dr. Claribel & Miss Etta: The Cone Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1985, pp. 178, 179, 202, p. 178, ill.
Marina Ducrey and Guy Ducrey, "La Galerie Paul Vallotton depuis 1913," Lausanne, Switzerland: Galerie Paul Vallotton, 1988, p. 67.
Marina Ducrey, "Félix Vallotton: La Vie, La Technique, L'Oeuvre Peint," Lausanne: Edita, 1989, pp. 76-77, p. 77, ill. (Published as "Le Mensonge")
Owen McNally, "Vallotton: in A Class by Himself," "The Hartford Courant," October 27, 1991, p. G1, ill.
Sasha M. Newman, "Félix Vallotton," New Haven: Yale University Art Gallery, Abbeville Press, 1991, pp. front cover, 142, 144, 157, 257, 296, 327, pl. 170, cover page, ill.
John Russell, "Trying on One Idiom After Another," "The New York Times," December 8, 1991, p. H36, ill. (Published as "Le Mensonge")
Susan Chadwick, "Artist's Cluttered Canvases Show Skill with Color, Form," "The Houston Post," February 7, 1992, p. D-7.
Andrew Patner, "Loyal Citizens of Baltimore," "Art & Antiques," June 1995, vol. XVIII, no. 6, p. 3, cover page, ill.
Julian Barnes, "Caption: What's in a Picture," "Civilization," May/June 1996, p. 96, ill.
Nobuyuki Senzoku and Akira Tomita, "Matisse and Modern Masters from the Cone Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art," Tokyo: Brain Trust Inc., 1996, p. 32, fig. 9, ill.
Dominique Brachlianoff, "Vallotton Romancier et Peintre ou la Juste Distance," in Marina Ducrey, ed., "Le Très Singulier Vallotton," Lyon/Marseille/Paris: Musée des Beaux-Arts, Musée Cantini, Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 2001, p. 67.
Claire Frèches-Thory, "Le 'Nabi Étranger'," in Marina Ducrey, ed., "Le Très Singulier Vallotton," Lyon/Marseille/Paris: Musée des Beaux-Arts, Musée Cantini, Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 2001, p. 45, fig. 9, ill. (Published as "Le Mensonge")
Anne Hollander, "Fabric of Vision: Dress and Drapery in Painting," London: National Gallery Company, 2002, pp. 179-181, 202, 207, no. 59, fig. 129, ill.
Marina Ducrey with Katia Poletti, "Félix Vallotton, 1865-1925, l, 'Oeuvre Peint Catalogue Raisonné," Zurich/Lausanne: Institut Suisse pour l'étude de l'art; Fondation Félix Vallotton; 5 Continents, 2005, pp. 142-143, no. 244, ill. (Published as "Le mensonge")
Ellen Sung, "One Last Night to Say 'Adieu," "The News & Observer," January 17, 2005, pp. 1A, 8A, ill. p. 1A.
Christoph Becker and Linda Schädler, "Félix Vallotton: Idyll on the Edge," Zurich: Scheidegger & Spiess, 2007, pp. 28, 183, no. 4, ill. (Published as "Le mensonge")
"Innovative New Programs," "BMA Today," Winter 2007-2008, p. 131, ill.
Ellen B. Hirschland and Nancy Hirschland Ramage, "The Cone Sisters of Baltimore: Collecting at Full Tilt," Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 2008, pp. 125-126, 279, fig. 5.19, ill.
Max Wechsler, "Der Nackte Akt Félix Vallotton (1865-1925)," "Parkett," 2008, no. 83, pp. 18-19, p. 21, ill. (Published as "Le Mensonge")
Max Wechsler, "The Naked Nude Félix Vallotton (1865-1925)," "Parkett," 2008, no. 83, p. 23. (Published as "Le Mensonge")
Nicole Gaillard, "Couples peints," Éditions Antipodes, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2013, color ill. p. 136 (published as Le mesonge).
Félix Vallotton. London: Royal Academy of Arts, 2019.
Chapin, Mary Weaver and Heather Lemonedes Brown. Private Lives: Home and Family in the Art of the Nabis, Paris, 1889-1900. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2021. illus. p. 95.
Portland Art Museum, "Private Lives: Home and Family in the Art of the Nabis, Paris, 1889-1900," in Portland Art Museum Magazine, Fall 2021. pp. 8-9, ill.
Inscribed: Recto: Lower left in paint, "F. Vallotton."
On View at the BMA
