The Other's Health, plate nine from Intimacies 1898

Editor: Here we have Félix Vallotton’s linocut from 1898, titled "The Other's Health." It’s a striking image with stark black and white contrasts. There’s something almost unsettling about the intimacy it portrays. What stands out to you about this print? Curator: I'm drawn to the process. Linocut as a medium in 1898 was still quite novel for "high art." Its association was more with commercial production—think posters, advertisements, or cheap reproductions. Vallotton appropriates this ‘lower’ form, elevating it. Notice, also, the simplification. Editor: Yes, it is striking how much detail he removes. Curator: Exactly. Why embrace the visual language of mass production to depict such a supposedly intimate scene? Doesn’t it deconstruct romantic notions? The carving itself – what does it tell us about Vallotton’s labor? Quick, decisive cuts yield to high contrast, echoing themes of commodity culture that he then infuses into traditionally sacrosanct domains like relationships. Think about what kind of knife would have been used... What force would he exert to remove material from that block of linoleum. That physical process and the class of labor associated with it inflect the final product. Editor: I see your point. Using linocut flattens everything; perhaps making it feel more like a…product, even a disposable one. And it brings to mind that intimacy can become commodified and even artificial. Curator: Precisely. This piece uses the language of commerce and the mechanics of material production to make us reconsider what we think about connection, about the nature of love, and about artistic skill itself. Editor: This has been very enlightening. I definitely see the artwork with new eyes.