Ferdinand Hodler

Born. 14.03.1853 in Bern
Died. 19.05.1918 in Genf

Swiss artist,  Symbolism and Art Nouveau

About the artist

Hodler was born on 14 March 1853 in Bern, Switzerland. When Hodler was eight years old, he lost his father and two younger brothers to tuberculosis. His mother remarried Gottlieb Schüpach who had five children from a previous marriage.

Hodler had to assist his stepfather in painting signs and other commercial projects when he was only nine years old to make ends meet. After his mother died from tuberculosis in 1867, he was sent to Ferdinand Sommer to start a painting apprenticeship. He learned to paint mountain landscapes that were sold to shops and tourists.

At 18 he travelled to Geneva to start his career as a painter, attending science lectures at the Collège de Genève and copying paintings by Alexandre Calame. He was later taken in as a student of Barthélemy Menn in 1873.

He continued his studies in Basel in 1875 and was inspired by the paintings of Hans Holbein—especially, Dead Christ in the Tomb. This was followed by a trip to Madrid in 1878 where he studied the works of Spanish masters.

The works of Hodler’s early maturity consisted of landscapes, figure compositions, and portraits, treated with vigorous realism. In 1884, Hodler met Augustine Dupin (1852–1909), who became his companion and model for the next several years.

Hodler was married twice. Bertha Stucki 1889 until their divorce in 1891, and Berthe Jacques in 1898. In 1908, Hodler met Valentine Godé-Darel, who became his mistress, although he continued to live with his second wife.

In 1913, Godé-Darel was diagnosed with cancer, as a result, Hodler spent many hours by her bedside sketching and painting, producing a series of paintings documenting her decline from the disease. When she died in 1915 he worked on a series of self-portraits that date from 1916.

Due to ill health, Hodler spent his last year painting views from his balcony in Geneva. He died on May 19, 1918.