The artwork entitled “Cloud at Romanel,” created by Felix Vallotton in 1900, is an oil painting on cardboard representative of the Symbolism art movement. This cloudscape, measuring 35 x 46 cm, is housed in the Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts located in Lausanne, Switzerland.
In the artwork, the viewer is presented with a serene landscape dominated by a large, pastel-colored cloud stretching across the canvas. The cloud, outlined in bright yellow, transitions from shades of lavender to blue as it merges with the sky. Beneath the cloud, a verdant, wooded region extends toward an open horizon, while rooftops with multiple chimneys emerge from the dense foliage, adding a man-made element to the natural scene. The sun appears to be setting or rising, casting light in pale, yellowish rays that give the clouds a luminous aura, contrasting with the darker tones of the landscape below. The composition’s horizontal layers and simple forms evoke a sense of calm and contemplation, typical of Vallotton’s symbolic approach to capturing nature’s ephemeral beauty.
