Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau in Moonlight 1908

Ferdinand Hodler made this dreamy landscape painting, using oils, probably sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. Look at the way those deep blues and purples pool and mix on the canvas. You can almost feel the chill of the night air and smell the crisp mountain air. I imagine Hodler standing before his easel, layering the paint, coaxing those peaks into existence. Notice the almost symmetrical repetition of form, how it feels like a mirror reflecting the landscape. The peaks of Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau stand like sentinels beneath a sky alive with swirling clouds. It reminds me a bit of Munch, that heightened emotionality, but grounded in a love for the land. You can see how artists build on each other's ideas, responding to what came before and pushing painting in new directions. It’s all one big conversation, really!