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Lot Essay
Das aus dem Nachlass Hodlers stammende Aquarell gehört zu einer Gruppe von acht Aquarellen mit Motiven aus dem Berner Oberland und des Genfersees. Gemäss den Erben soll Hodler die Blätter zeitlebens in einer Mappe aufbewahrt haben. Stilistisch sind sie nicht mehr den Arbeiten in der Nachfolge Ferdinand Sommers zuzurechnen, zeigen aber in Motivwahl und Komposition noch nicht die Merkmale der um 1873-75 entstandenen Landschaftsgemälde. Deutlich ist das Vorbild des jungen Alexandre Calame, dessen Lithographien breiten Kreisen zugänglich waren. In jungen Jahren hatte Calame wiederholt malerische Häusergruppen im Savoyer Vorgebirge dargestellt. Hodler zog Ende 1871 nach Genf mit der Absicht, die Werke des bewunderten Alpenmalers zu studieren und zu kopieren. Der singuläre Charakter der Werkgruppe und die Tatsache, dass keine gesicherten und vergleichbaren Aquarelle vor 1875 von Hodler bekannt sind, erschwert eine Authentifizierung des vorliegenden Aquarells. Der Bezug zu Calame, die gute Provenienz und Qualität des Aquarells lassen dennoch eine Zuschreibung an Hodler zu.
Wir danken Paul Müller, Schweizerisches Institut für Kunstwissenschaft, Zürich, für den Textbeitrag.
Das Werk ist im Schweizerischen Institut für Kunstwissenschaft, Zürich, unter der Nr. 10'371 als Zuschreibung an Ferdinand Hodler registriert. Dem Werk liegt ein Archivauszug bei.
The watercolour originating from the estate of Hodler belongs to a group of eight watercolours with themes from the Bernese Oberland and Lake Geneva. According to his heirs, Hodler kept the sheets in a portfolio during his lifetime. Stylistically, they are no longer emulations of the work of Ferdinand Sommer, but they do not yet exhibit the choice of theme and composition characteristic of the landscape paintings developed around 1873-75. Clear is the influence of the young Alexandre Calame, whose lithographies were accessible to broad circles. In his early years, Calame had repeatedly portrayed a pictorial group of houses in the foothills of Savoy. Hodler moved to Geneva at the end of 1871 with the intention of studying and imitating the works of the admired alpine painter. The singular nature of the group of works and the fact that no verified and comparable watercolours of Hodler before 1875 are known make an authentication of the present watercolour more difficult. The reference to Calame, the good provenance and the quality of the watercolour nevertheless permit an attribution to Hodler.
We are grateful to Paul Müller, Swiss Institute for Art Research, Zurich, for the catalogue entry.
The work is registered as no. 10'371 with the Swiss Institute for Art Research, Zurich, attributed to Ferdinand Hodler. The work is accompanied by the archival registration.
Wir danken Paul Müller, Schweizerisches Institut für Kunstwissenschaft, Zürich, für den Textbeitrag.
Das Werk ist im Schweizerischen Institut für Kunstwissenschaft, Zürich, unter der Nr. 10'371 als Zuschreibung an Ferdinand Hodler registriert. Dem Werk liegt ein Archivauszug bei.
The watercolour originating from the estate of Hodler belongs to a group of eight watercolours with themes from the Bernese Oberland and Lake Geneva. According to his heirs, Hodler kept the sheets in a portfolio during his lifetime. Stylistically, they are no longer emulations of the work of Ferdinand Sommer, but they do not yet exhibit the choice of theme and composition characteristic of the landscape paintings developed around 1873-75. Clear is the influence of the young Alexandre Calame, whose lithographies were accessible to broad circles. In his early years, Calame had repeatedly portrayed a pictorial group of houses in the foothills of Savoy. Hodler moved to Geneva at the end of 1871 with the intention of studying and imitating the works of the admired alpine painter. The singular nature of the group of works and the fact that no verified and comparable watercolours of Hodler before 1875 are known make an authentication of the present watercolour more difficult. The reference to Calame, the good provenance and the quality of the watercolour nevertheless permit an attribution to Hodler.
We are grateful to Paul Müller, Swiss Institute for Art Research, Zurich, for the catalogue entry.
The work is registered as no. 10'371 with the Swiss Institute for Art Research, Zurich, attributed to Ferdinand Hodler. The work is accompanied by the archival registration.