*FÉLIX VALLOTTON (1865-1925 )Intimacies. 1897-1898. Engraved wood. Vallotton and Goerg 188 to 197. Complete homogeneous suite of 10 plates. Very nice proofs on vellum, annotated "t. a 25 ep. / 13" and signed in pencil, accompanied by the summary table composed of a fragment of each wood, also on vellum, numbered and signed. All margins. Very rare. Edition of 25 proofs. Portfolio of the edition, printed on the 1st plate, complete with cords (faded). Detail of the plates : - Summary plate. (Fragments of destroyed woodblocks printed on a single sheet). 225 x 185 [320 x 250]. Very nice proof on ivory vellum, annotated "t. a 25 ep. / 13" and signed in pencil. Slight thread-like traces of rubbing on the surface. Small lack at the left edge of the sheet. Thin oblique marks of clamp or vice in the lower corners. - The Lie (pl. 1). 1897. Woodcut. 222 x 180 [320 x 250]. Vallotton and Goerg 188 d. A very fine proof on ivory vellum, annotated "t. a 25 ep. / 13" and signed in pencil. Fine oblique thread-like rubbing in the black on the right of the woman. Fine oblique pinch or vice marks in the lower corners. - The Triumph (pl. 2). 1897. Woodcut. 222 x 176 [320 x 250]. Vallotton and Goerg 189 d. A very fine proof on ivory vellum, annotated "t. a 25 ep. / 13" and signed in pencil. Thin oblique marks of clamp or vice in the lower corners. - La Belle épingle (pl. 3). 1898. Woodcut. 222 x 180 [320 x 250]. Vallotton and Goerg 190 c. A very fine proof on ivory vellum, annotated "t. a 25 ep. / 13" and signed in pencil. A few fine hairs caught in the (original) paper pulp, forming black lines in the whites (notably in the left pillow). Thin oblique traces of a clamp or vice in the lower corners. - Probative Reason (pl. 4). 1898. Woodcut. 221 x 175 [320 x 250]. Vallotton and Goerg 191 d. A very fine proof on ivory vellum, annotated "t. a 25 ep. / 13" and signed in pencil. Thin oblique marks of clamp or vice in the lower corners. - L'Argent (pl. 5). 1898. Woodcut. 223 x 179 [320 x 250]. Vallotton and Goerg 192 d. A very fine proof on ivory vellum, annotated "t. a 25 ep. / 13" and signed in pencil. Thread-like traces of rubbing on the surface. Thin oblique marks of clamp or vice in the lower corners. - The Great Medium (pl. 6). 1898. Woodcut. 220 x 176 [320 x 250]. Vallotton and Goerg 193 c. A very fine proof on ivory vellum, annotated "t. a 25 ep. / 13" and signed in pencil. Some very light surface foxing (slightly perceptible in the whites). Faint oblique marks of clamp or vice in the lower corners. - Five o'clock (pl. 7). 1898. Woodcut. 220 x 175 [320 x 250]. Vallotton and Goerg 194 c. Fine proof on ivory vellum, annotated "t. a 25 ep. / 13" and signed in pencil. Trace (of origin) in the white of the tablecloth (the black ink, rubbed while still wet, having slightly "chased"). Thin oblique marks of a clamp or vice in the lower corners. - Visiting primers (pl. 8). 1898. Woodcut. 221 x 176 [320 x 250]. Vallotton and Goerg 195 c. A very fine proof on ivory vellum, annotated "t. a 25 ep. / 13" and signed in pencil. Oblique filiform trace of rubbing in the black of the man. Thin oblique traces of clamp or vice in the lower corners. - The Health of the Other (pl. 9). 1898. Woodcut. 221 x 176 [320 x 250]. Vallotton and Goerg 196 d. A very fine proof on ivory vellum, annotated "t. a 25 ep. / 13" and signed in pencil. A few fine thread-like traces of rubbing on the surface. Fine oblique marks of clamp or vice in the lower corners. - The Irreparable (pl. 10). 1898. Woodcut. 222 x 175 [320 x 250]. Vallotton and Goerg 197 c. A very fine proof on ivory vellum, annotated "t. a 25 ep. / 13" and signed in pencil. A few fine thread-like traces of rubbing on the surface. Fine oblique marks of clamp or vice in the lower corners. "In this series, Vallotton does not depict marital harmony, but rather the hypocrisy of mores regarding marriage and life "for two." The artist criticizes what is expected by society at the end of the nineteenth century: deceptive appearances, feigned feelings. The Health of the other seems however to be an exception. Indeed, beyond the distressing impression that this apparently closed space can give rise to, it is above all the benevolence and tenderness that emerge from this scene, contrasting with other more anxiety-provoking plates, in particular the last of the series, with its evocative title: L'Irréparable (The Irreparable), where a heavy silence is felt. Vallotton manages to express the emotions and feelings of each of the characters in a subtle way, using simple forms and large flat tints. Among the most famous of his work and contributing to his fame, these plates show all the power of his work.