Landscape on Lake Geneva 1906

Ferdinand Hodler made this painting of Lake Geneva with oil on canvas. Look at those horizontal bands of colour and rhythmic echoes! Imagine him standing there, trying to capture a landscape that’s more feeling than place. He’s simplifying everything into these big, almost geometric shapes. See how the blue of the water mirrors the blue of the mountains and sky? It’s like he’s searching for some kind of harmony, trying to find the underlying structure in nature. I bet he felt the push and pull of trying to be accurate, but also wanting to express something deeper, like a mood or a memory. It reminds me of Courbet, but also anticipates Cezanne. There's a conversation happening here, across time, between painters trying to make sense of the world, one brushstroke at a time. Each artist builds on what came before, adding their own voice to the chorus. Hodler’s voice is uniquely his.