Ferdinand Hodler: Paintings

By Mildred Ferguson

Ferdinand Hodler was famous Swiss painters of the 19th century. He developed a style which he called "Parallelism", characterized by groupings of figures symmetrically arranged in poses suggesting ritual or dance. Hodler's work in his final phase took on an expressionist aspect with strongly coloured and geometrical figures. Landscapes were pared down to essentials, sometimes consisting of a jagged wedge of land between water and sky. These mystical, non-realistic paintings depicting an escape from the bourgeois cares of modern life gained Hodler first notoriety and then popularity.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mildred Ferguson
• Release date: Feb 11, 2015
• ISBN: 9786050356403

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Ferdinand Hodler: Paintings

By Mildred Ferguson

First Edition

Copyright © 2015 by Mildred Ferguson

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Ferdinand Hodler: Paintings

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Foreword

Ferdinand Hodler (1853 – 1918) was one of the best-known Swiss painters of the nineteenth century. The works of Hodler's early maturity consisted of landscapes, figure compositions, and portraits, treated with a vigorous realism. He made a trip to Basel in 1875, where he studied the paintings of Hans Holbein—especially, Dead Christ in the Tomb, which influenced Hodler's many treatments of the theme of death. In the last decade of the nineteenth century his work evolved to combine influences from several genres including symbolism and art nouveau. He developed a style which he called Parallelism, characterized by groupings of figures symmetrically arranged