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International Art Treasures Web Magazine April 2005 |
Ferdinand Hodler and GenevaMusée Rath
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Native to Bern, it was in Geneva that Ferdinand Hodler found his calling as a talented artist. The Musée d'art et d'histoire (MAH) has a large collection of his works. They have organized this exhibit at the Musée Rath. It is focused on Hodler's Geneva experience and it's influence on his work. |
Hodler moved to Geneva at the age of eighteen to study the work of artists he admired and hope to emulate including Alexandre Calame and François Diday. Eventually the artist studied at the École des Beaux-Arts under Barthélemy Menn.
Title: Interior Musée Rath, Geneva
Photographer: Gérard Pétremand, Geneva
Image Courtesy: MAH
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Early in his career the artist explored landscapes, which were not well received, described as resembling penny postcards. His style would change with figures encased in black, the suggestion of brooding inherent in the work. |
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Title: Portrait of Francine Maylac, 1916
Artist: Ferdinand Hodler (Swiss 1853-1918)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 47.5 x 43 cm, Inv 1939-55
Signed and Dated Bottom Right << 1916. F. Hodler >> on reverse << F. Hodler 1916 >>
© Institut Suisse Pour L'étude de L'art, Jean-Pierre Kuhn
Image Courtesy: MAH
The artist would set a number of partially clothed figures lounging or sleeping with repetitious lines and colors and paint from these models. Hodler named his method parallelism.
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In the early 20th Century he returned to his landscapes, this time they brought him popularity.
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He is believed to be an influence on the emergence of Expressionism. |
Title: Lake Leman and Mont-Blanc / Le Lac Léman et le
Mont-Blanc, 1918
Artist: Ferdinand Hodler (Swiss 1853-1918)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 77 x 152.2 cm, Inv 1964-33
Not Signed
© Geneva, MAH, Bettina Jacot-Descombes
Image Courtesy: MAH
His life experiences impacted his work, such as the death of his young lover, Valentine Godé-Darel. In 1915, this propelled him to create several works depicting her painful end. The artist himself passed on in 1918.
Title: Interior Musée Rath, Geneva
Photographer: Gérard Pétremand, Geneva
Image Courtesy: MAH
Ferdinand Hodler and Geneva includes eighty works all drawn from the MAH.
Title: Exterior Musée Rath, Geneva
Photographer: Gérard Pétremand, Geneva
Image Courtesy: MAH