The Black Lutschina 1905

Ferdinand Hodler’s "The Black Lutschina" captures a landscape with oil on canvas, and what strikes me is how the paint is laid down in these deliberate, almost geometric strokes. It's like Hodler is building this scene, brick by brick. Look at the water: it's not just flowing; it's constructed with layers of blues and greens, capturing the movement through these distinct marks. The texture is so palpable. The rocks in the foreground, for example, are these chunky, almost haphazard daubs of color, but somehow, they resolve into solid forms. And the mountains in the background? They’re softened, dreamlike. This piece reminds me a bit of Cezanne, especially in the way Hodler simplifies forms into planes of color, yet he brings his own unique flavor to it. The process is right there on the surface, isn't it? And that's the beauty of painting – it’s a record of thinking, of seeing, of making, right there for us to explore.