Hodler. A model for Swiss art
Opening: Saturday 21 June 2025, 5.00 pm
By the turn of the 20th century, Ferdinand Hodler was considered in Switzerland and around the world as one of the most important artists of his generation. Through the power of his work coupled with his charismatic personality, he became the pre-eminent figure in Swiss art. Such was his influence that when he died in 1918, several critics proclaimed that Swiss art owed its existence to Hodler. He was notably the first artist of such stature to remain in Switzerland rather than train and work abroad. Among his contemporaries and subsequent generations of artists, Hodler was either an example to follow or one to avoid.
The exhibition takes an innovative approach to the reception of the master's oeuvre and the trajectories of the many artists who engaged with his work. Organised jointly with the Institut Ferdinand Hodler and the Musée d'art de Pully, where it will be on show from the start of the year, the exhibition will feature works by Hodler's contemporaries, including Cuno Amiet, Giovanni Giacometti and Félix Vallotton.
The exhibition hosted at the MahN will showcase selected Neuchâtel artists who have a clear connection with Hodler's work, such as Gustave Jeanneret, Charles L'Eplattenier and Paul-Théophile Robert, as well as figures who roundly rejected his aesthetic vision like Le Falot, a group of Geneva-based artists. Three monumental pieces, commissioned from Claudia Comte, Didier Rittener and David Weishaar, reinterpret the work of the illustrious Bernese artist. Comte has created an oversizedmural and series of sculptures evoking the connection between man and nature, a theme close to Hodler's heart. Weishaar has drawn inspiration from the Symbolist dimension of Hodler's famous painting The Day (1899–1900) for his imposing painting on canvas which explores the artist's relationship with his models. Finally, there is Rittener's gigantic hand-drawn triptych that captures every plant and flower found in Hodler's paintings.
A richly illustrated catalogue, featuring articles by experts on Swiss art, will be published in conjunction with the exhibition by Notari, Geneva (14 authors; 64 artist biographies; 304 pages; and 215 illustrations).