MyGeneva
Ferdinand Hodler. Profession of faith
All of Geneva in one app
Parties, concerts, exhibitions and shows, tonight and all week, with a reminder before what you don't want to miss.
Open in the appThis exhibition studies for the first time the links between Ferdinand Hodler's (1853-1918) painting and the religious. In his youth, the Swiss painter was an avid reader of the Bible. He drew on rare biblical scenes in his painting, particularly that of the Good Samaritan. Born… This exhibition studies for the first time the links between Ferdinand Hodler's (1853-1918) painting and the religious. In his youth, the Swiss painter was an avid reader of the Bible. He drew on rare biblical scenes in his painting, particularly that of the Good Samaritan. Born in Bern, Protestant by faith, he also created a painting that connects him to the Reformation and to the city of Geneva: Calvin in the courtyard of the Collège. Several church interiors and prayer scenes are also known. Exploring Ferdinand Hodler's religious roots, this exhibition especially develops the way the painter makes the idea of creation his own, transposing it onto nature, developing through his artistic theory almost a form of pantheism. The belief that the order of nature expresses a higher unity guided the creation of Hodler's most important works, and especially his later great symbolist compositions, such as Gaze into infinity, and the landscapes he calls "planetary", inviting meditation and elevation. Through around twenty-five paintings, the exhibition traces the different professions of faith of Hodler and the spiritual stages of his journey.