Press Release For Immediate Release

Geneva | +41 22 908 48 14 | Catherine Allen | catherine.allen@sothebys.com

Zurich | +41 44 227 11 18 | Alexandra Cron | a.cron@fatzerimbach.ch

A STUNNING PAINTING BY FÉLIX VALLOTTON A MASTERWORK OF THE NABI MOVEMENT AU MARCHÉ To Lead Sotheby's Zurich Sale

SWISS ART • SWISS MADE

29 November 2016

Zurich, 28 October 2016 - Sotheby's is very pleased to present Au Marché, a stunning work by the celebrated avant-garde painter Félix Vallotton, which will be offered at auction in Zurich on 29 November. Leading Sotheby's sale of Swiss Art / Swiss Made, this vibrant work from the artist's highly sought-after Nabi period is a masterpiece of great rarity from one of the most important artists of the early 20th century. The painting comes to auction after more than 60 years in private hands and will be offered with an estimate of CHF 1.5 - 2 million.

1

A MASTERWORK OF MUSEUM QUALITY

This painting is a fascinating example of Vallotton's work during his Nabi period, the most sought- after for the artist and one which would prove crucial for the rest of his career. This stunning work depicts a scene at the heart of late 19th-century Paris, in the bustling market of a popular neighbourhood. Félix Vallotton brings the characters to life, using strong outlines and bold unmediated colour alongisde textured surfaces - motifs characteristic of the Nabi movement.

This artists' collective found great inspiration in the work of Paul Gauguin and used everyday subjects in order to express personal emotions and the artist's inner reality. For Vallotton, the visual expression of the Nabi philosophy drew strongly on his fascination with Japanese woodcuts, and this composition is reminiscent of that technique. His choice of subject - a snapshot of real life, expressed through his eyes - brings to mind the bold illustrations for which he had already become very well-known, as a contributor to the literary magazine La Revue blanche.

AN ARTIST AT THE HEART OF THE NABI MOVEMENT

Alongside his friends Paul Sérusier, Edouard Vuillard, Pierre Bonnard and Maurice Denis, in the late 1880s Félix Vallotton was among the founders of the artistic movement known as "Les Nabis". Reacting against the more academic approaches to painting and taking inspiration from Paul Gauguin, these artists favoured a subjective style with bold planes of muted colour, and a rejection of conventional ideas of perspective. This freed the artists to express their inner selves and to embrace the decorative, symbolic and even spiritual function of painting.

This superb work is an outstanding example of the motifs and philosophy of the Nabi collective. It prefigures the avant-garde movements of the 20th century and is sure to be of great interest to collectors of European Post-Impressionist art.

SWISS ART - SWISS MADE

SALE

Sotheby's Zurich, Talstrasse 83

Tuesday, 29 November 2016 at 6 pm

PUBLIC EXHIBITIONS

Sotheby's Geneva, Hôtel Beau-Rivage 13 quai du Mont-Blanc

12-14 November 2016, 10am to 6pm

Sotheby's Zurich, Talstrasse 83

25-27 November 2016, 10am to 6pm

2

Sw i ss A r t at Soth eb y's

Sotheby's Zurich has been holding Swiss Art sales twice a year (in spring and autumn) since the early 1980s. Covering Swiss artistic production from the 19th century until present day, the sales regularly offer major works by leading Swiss artists, including Ferdinand Hodler, Félix Vallotton, Giovanni Giacometti, Cuno Amiet and Giovanni Segantini. Internationally recognised, these artists played an important role in the European avant-garde and took part in key movements of the 20th century. In the past 20 years, Sotheby's Swiss Art auctions set numerous records for these artists and have contributed to their international recognition.

For More News From Sotheby's

Visit: www.sothebys.com/en/inside/services/press/news/news.html Follow: www.twitter.com/sothebys

Join: www.facebook.com/sothebys & www.weibo.com/sothebyshongkong Watch: www.youtube.com/sothebys

FOR MORE NEWS FROM SOTHEBY'S

News & Video: http://www.sothebys.com/en/news-video.html Twitter: www.twitter.com/sothebys

Facebook: www.facebook.com/sothebys Instagram: www.instagram.com/sothebys Snapchat ID: sothebys

Weibo: www.weibo.com/sothebyshongkong WeChat ID: sothebyshongkong

Sotheby's has been uniting collectors with world-class works of art since 1744. Sotheby's became the first international auction house when it expanded from London to New York (1955), the first to conduct sales in Hong Kong (1973), India (1992) and France (2001), and the first international fine art auction house in China (2012). Today, Sotheby's presents auctions in 10 different salesrooms, including New York, London, Hong Kong and Paris, and Sotheby's BidNow program allows visitors to view all auctions live online and place bids from anywhere in the world. Sotheby's offers collectors the resources of Sotheby's Financial Services, the world's only full-service art financing company, as well as private sale opportunities in more than 70 categories, including S|2, the gallery arm of Sotheby's Contemporary Art department, and two retail businesses, Sotheby's Diamonds and Sotheby's Wine. Sotheby's has a global network of 80 offices in 40 countries and is the oldest company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (BID).

*Estimates do not include buyer's premium. Prices achieved include the hammer price plus buyer's premium and are net of any fees paid to the purchaser where the purchaser provided an irrevocable bid.

Images are available upon request

Browse sale catalogues, view original content, stream live auctions and more at www.sothebys.com, and through Sotheby's apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, Apple TV and Amazon Fire

# # #

3

Sotheby's Inc. published this content on 28 October 2016 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein.
Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 28 October 2016 10:11:03 UTC.

Original documenthttp://investor.shareholder.com/common/download/download.cfm?companyid=BID&fileid=914307&filekey=65A8740B-6252-4AFC-AC24-D5392D3C95ED&filename=Flix_Vallottons_Au_March_-_Swiss_Art-Swiss_Made_-_Sothebys_Zurich_29_November_2016.pdf

Public permalinkhttp://www.publicnow.com/view/268154F701E7EF45A3EB3996185A13E9107423D6