Publisher's Synopsis
"During his forty-year career, Swiss painter Ferdinand Hodler (1853-1918) created works that range from vast Symbolist compositions to intimate, realist portraits and nearly abstract landscape paintings, which have earned him a place among the pioneers of modern art. This catalogue accompanies an exhibition focused on the role of drawing in his practice, from quick compositional sketches to elaborate oil studies. Most of the drawings Hodler produced were preparatory studies for his large-scale compositions. They offer a fascinating account of his working process, which involved technical experimentation with imprints, tracing, and collages. A few of his portrait drawings are also featured, including a poignant series in which he recorded the illness and death of his lover Valentine Godé-Darel. Nearly all the works are from the Musée Jenisch in Vevey, a town on Lake Geneva that Hodler visited frequently. In 2014, the museum received a be
