Lake Geneva with the Savoy Alps 1907 - 1911

Ferdinand Hodler made this painting, "Lake Geneva with the Savoy Alps," using oil on canvas, but when it was made is a bit of a mystery! The hazy blues, yellows, and greens feel, above all, like a study in layering and transparency. Hodler’s got these thin washes of color sitting right on the surface, so you can sense how the painting slowly emerged, one layer at a time. The physicality of the paint is interesting because you can see these horizontal striations. The surface has this slightly scrubbed, uneven feel, as if the color has been pulled across the canvas. Look how the mountain range is almost like a dark, shadowy echo against the sky. Hodler was into symmetry, repetition and a kind of stylized realism. It reminds me a little bit of some of Alex Katz's landscapes—or maybe even the other way around! Anyway, both of them leave plenty of room for the viewer to get lost in their own way.