Ferdinand Hodler - Self-Portrait
Hodler developed this lithograph from a 1915 oil self-portrait produced after a cure for worsening health and depression following a beloved companion’s death and serious
financial repercussions suffered since he had opposed Germany’s bombing of Reims Cathedral in September 1914. After that spa visit amidst casualties of the war, Hodler was rested and confident: he accentuated his forehead as an energetic sphere and made his rising left collar tug against the right ear that spreads as if to hear. Long hailed internationally as the preeminent modern Swiss artist, he had found encouragement in a young daughter and new partner, an appointment to a teaching position, and the distribution of this print to Pages d’Art subscribers to mark the major article on the artist in the April/May 1916 issue. This contributed directly to a renewal of commissions, including sixteen closely related oil self-portraits in
1916 alone.
Barbara C. Buenger