ticketsMember | Make a donation

The Demonstration (La Manifestation), from "L'Estampe Originale"

Publisher André Marty French
1893
Not on view
The aesthetics and politics of urban crowds attracted Vallotton as a recurrent subject in the early 1890s. For this scene of a dispersing demonstration, the artist effectively exploited the economy of the black-and-white woodcut medium, balancing the density of the hastening crowd in the upper third of the composition with the radical blank space below. The approaching authorities remain out of the frame, though their presence is inferred by the reactions of the fleeing protestors. Vallotton also omits any reference to specific cause, which made the work more palatable to a broad audience. It was included in one of the most significant avant-garde print projects of the fin de siècle, André Marty’s L’Estampe originale (1893–95).

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Demonstration (La Manifestation), from "L'Estampe Originale"
  • Series/Portfolio: L'Estampe originale, Album I
  • Artist: Félix Vallotton (Swiss, Lausanne 1865–1925 Paris)
  • Publisher: André Marty (French, born 1857)
  • Date: 1893
  • Medium: Woodcut
  • Dimensions: Image: 7 15/16 × 12 1/2 in. (20.1 × 31.8 cm)
    Sheet: 9 in. × 13 3/16 in. (22.8 × 33.5 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1922
  • Object Number: 22.82.1-9
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
L'Estampe Originale
André Marty
1893–95
The Patriotic Ditty, Félix Vallotton Swiss, Woodcut on cream laid paper
The Patriotic Ditty
Félix Vallotton
1893
The Paris Crowd, Félix Vallotton Swiss, Woodcut on cream wove paper
The Paris Crowd
Félix Vallotton
1892
Crimes and Punishments, in L'Assiette au Beurre, no. 48, March 1, 1902
Félix Vallotton
1902
The Alarm
Félix Vallotton
1895

Related Content

Perspectives

Articles, audio, and video from The Met's online magazine.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.