(March 14, 1853 – May 19, 1918)
At the end of the nineteenth century Hodler was one of the leading Symbolist painters. His creative force, his taste for decoration and his simplified painting are reminiscent of Rodin and Puvis de Chavannes, the undisputed masters with whom he is often compared. However, Hodler remains relatively unknown in France, whereas in Switzerland he is considered their great painter, and in Germany and Austria he is regarded as one of the founders of modern art.
This post shows samplings of Hodler's works from 1890 on.
Night
1890
Kunstmuseum Bern
Hodler was 37 when he made this autobiographical painting on the theme of sleep and the fear of death, but also on the relationship between men and women. All the Michelangelo-like, shadowless figures appear to be naked and are draped in black sheets. Both the central figure and the man top right are Hodler himself, while the female figure seen from the back on lower right is his wife at that time-Bertha Stucki (this is the only time she appeared in one of his paintings). The figures in the foreground sleep peacefully; those in the background less so. The contented couple bottom right can be contrasted with the man and two women top left who seem slightly less at ease (the middle figure of this group could be Bertha again). In the middle lies a terrified young man (Hodler) with the figure of death placed squarely between his legs. Hodler had good reason to be preoccupied with dying, having grown up amidst grinding poverty and having witnessed the slow death of all his family from tuberculosis. His father died when he was 7, his mother when he was 14, his stepfather when he was 17, and his four brothers and one sister-Hodler was the oldest in the family-all died between his eighth birthday and the time he was 32. Nor is it unusual that Hodler should put himself in the picture. In all, he painted 100 self-portraits-more than any other painter except Van Gogh himself. Read the rest at Diva International.
Die Lebensmüden
1892
The Chosen One
1893-94
Kunstmuseum, Berne
Emotion
1901-2
1903
Lake Thun
1905
Musee d'Art et d'Histoire, Geneva
The Sacred Hour
1910
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