Q131586099

Dated to 1916, this canvas comes from the final two years of Hodler's sustained productivity. Widowed in spirit by Valentine's death in January 1915, he returned obsessively to alpine landscapes that seemed to offer permanence against personal loss. Lake Geneva, the Jura hills, the distant white summits of Savoy recur in dozens of canvases from 1915–1917, each exploring a slightly different condition of light, season, or atmospheric state while maintaining the formal principles of a lifetime. Hodler was also producing late self-portraits of unflinching directness during this period, confronting his own aging face with the same psychological honesty he had brought to his depictions of the dying Valentine. The 1916 canvases are among the most moving in his catalogue — formally controlled yet emotionally exposed.

The 1916 canvases show a paint application that is looser and more immediate than Hodler's 1900s work, though never sacrificing structural clarity. Colour is handled boldly: intense, sometimes unexpected harmonies that subordinate local colour to expressive purpose. The canvas weave is more visible in some passages, suggesting a thinner application that allows the ground to contribute to the final effect.