A View of Lake Brienz from Bodeli 

Ferdinand Hodler painted "A View of Lake Brienz from Bodeli" during a period of immense cultural and artistic transformation. His Swiss identity was deeply rooted in the symbolic representation of the natural landscape, a space often used to negotiate national identity and cultural values. Hodler’s compositions often evoke a sense of the sublime, yet there's a grounded quality to his work, connecting to the local and the personal. The way he frames Lake Brienz, it is not just a depiction of a place but an intimate encounter with nature. There's an emotional resonance here, a quiet observation that allows us to consider our relationship with the world around us. Hodler developed a style known as Parallelism, arranging figures and elements in symmetrical patterns to suggest harmony and unity. "Every landscape has a soul," Hodler once said, believing nature held a spiritual essence which he sought to capture. This painting offers us a moment to reflect on the relationship between nature, identity, and the search for emotional grounding.