Ferdinand Hodler

Ferdinand Hodler , 1853-1918, Swiss painter and lithographer. At first he worked in an ornamental style akin to art nouveau. Inclined toward mysticism, he visited Paris in 1891 and was attracted to the symbolist group around Gauguin. Hodler then evolved his own powerful means of expression with strong rhythmic patterns and a tight linear structure, which he called parallelism. He influenced the expressionists of the next generation. Characteristic paintings are Eurythmy (1894-95) and The Woodcutter (both: Bern).

Hodler, Ferdinand (1853–1918). Swiss painter, born in Berne and active mainly in Geneva. He ranks alongside Arnold Böcklin (1827–1901) as the outstanding Swiss artist of his time, but his early work was rather unimaginatively naturalistic, his landscapes amounting to ambitious colour postcards for tourists. However, in 1890, with his brooding Night ( Kunstmuseum, Berne), Hodler began a sudden change of style. This picture, depicting a black-shrouded, phantom-like presence amid a number of semi-naked sleeping figures, set the pattern for his most characteristic works—allegories featuring stately groups of flat, stylized figures composed into a rhythmic and repetitive pattern of lines, forms, and colours. Often the same basic figure is repeated throughout the picture with only slight variations. Hodler called his method ‘Parallelism'; he used the same principles in scenes from Swiss history and landscapes. By the turn of the century he had become immensely popular throughout the German-speaking world and in 1904 a group of 31 of his paintings was the main attraction at the Vienna Sezession's international exhibition. George Heard Hamilton writes that ‘This occasion, when Hodler was one of a group that included Munch, Gallen-Kallela, Cuno Amiet, and Jan Thorn Prikker, may be considered the climax of Symbolist painting. In the year that followed Gauguin's death and preceded the first Fauve manifestation these men were the acknowledged leaders of modern art in Norway, Finland, Switzerland, and Germany.’ In the last decade of his life Hodler returned more to landscape painting: ‘In spare lines and a few vivid colours, comparable to the best Fauve work, he set forth his mystique of the Alpine landscape’ ( Hamilton). As well as being a major figure of Symbolism and Art Nouveau, Hodler has been seen as one of the harbingers of Expressionism.

Hodler, Ferdinand (b Berne, 14 Mar. 1853; d Geneva, 19 May 1918). Swiss painter, active mainly in Geneva. He ranks alongside Böcklin as the outstanding Swiss artist of his time, but his early work was rather unimaginatively naturalistic, his landscapes amounting to ambitious colour postcards for tourists. However, in 1890, with his brooding Night (Kunstmuseum, Berne), Hodler began a sudden change of style. This picture, depicting a black-shrouded, phantom-like presence amid a number of semi-naked sleeping figures, set the pattern for his most characteristic works—allegories featuring stately groups of flat, stylized figures composed into a rhythmic and repetitive pattern of lines, forms, and colours. Often the same basic figure is repeated throughout the picture with only slight variations. Hodler called his method ‘Parallelism’; he used the same principles in scenes from Swiss history and landscapes. By the turn of the century he had become immensely popular throughout the German-speaking world and in 1904 a group of 31 of his paintings was the main attraction at the Vienna Sezession's international exhibition. In the last decade of his life he returned more to landscape painting. As well as being a major figure of Symbolism and Art Nouveau, Hodler has been seen as one of the harbingers of Expressionism.