Schynige plate 1909

Ferdinand Hodler made this painting of Schynige Plate with oil on canvas; you can almost feel the chill of the mountain air. Hodler's laying down these strokes of blues and greens, like he's trying to capture the sheer volume and texture of the landscape. I can imagine him standing there, maybe a little windswept, trying to figure out how to translate this massive thing onto a canvas. It’s a kind of dance between observation and feeling. The paint isn't trying to hide; it's thin in places but also thick in layers. The gestures are so deliberate. Check out that ridgeline – it’s like a dark zipper running across the top. The composition is giving me that feeling of the sublime, like being dwarfed by nature but also somehow connected to it. Hodler knew a thing or two about the Symbolist movement. You see this concern with capturing not just what’s there, but also the emotional resonance of a place. Painters are always feeding off each other, figuring out new ways to see and feel. Hodler has this dialogue with artists past and present, and it's kind of great to witness.