1853-1918 Swiss Ferdinand Hodler Galleries Hodler was born in Berne and grew up in poverty. His father, Jean Hodler, made a meager living as a carpenter; his mother, Marguerite (n??e Neukomm), was from a peasant family. By the time Hodler was eight years old, he had lost his father and two younger brothers to tuberculosis. His mother remarried to a decorative painter, but in 1867 she too died of tuberculosis. Before he was ten, Hodler received training in decorative painting from his stepfather, and was subsequently sent to Thun to apprentice with a local painter, Ferdinand Sommer. Hodler's earliest works were conventional landscapes, which he sold in shops and to tourists. In 1871, at the age of 18, he traveled on foot to Geneva to start a career as a painter. The works of Hodler's early maturity consisted of landscapes, figure compositions and portraits, treated with a vigorous realism. He made a trip to Basel in 1875, where he studied the paintings of Hans Holbein??especially Dead Christ in the Tomb, which influenced Hodler's many treatments of the theme of death. In the last decade of the 19th century his work evolved to combine influences from several genres including symbolism and art nouveau. He developed a style which he called Parallelism, characterized by groupings of figures symmetrically arranged in poses suggesting ritual or dance. In 1884 Hodler met Augustine Dupin (1852?C1909), who became his companion and model for the next several years. Their son, Hector Hodler, was born in 1887. In 1889 Hodler married Bertha Stucki; they were divorced in 1891. Hodler's work in his final phase took on an expressionist aspect with strongly coloured and geometrical figures. Landscapes were pared down to essentials, sometimes consisting of a jagged wedge of land between water and sky. However, the most famous of Hodler's paintings portray scenes in which characters are engaged in everyday activities, such as the famous woodcutter (Der Holzfaller, Mus??e d'Orsay, Paris). This picture went on to appear on the back of the 50 Swiss Franc bank note issued by the Swiss National Bank. In 1898, Hodler married Berthe Jacques. In 1914 he condemned the German atrocities conducted using artillery at Rheims. In retaliation for this, German art museums excluded Hodler's work. In 1908 he met Valentine Gode-Darel, who became his mistress. She was diagnosed with cancer in 1913, and the many hours Hodler spent by her bedside resulted in a remarkable series of paintings documenting her disintegration. Her death in January 1915 affected Hodler greatly. He occupied himself with work; a series of about 20 introspective self-portraits date from 1916. By late 1917 his declining health led him to thoughts of suicide. He died on May 19, 1918 in Geneva leaving behind a number of unfinished works portraying the city.  Related Paintings of Ferdinand Hodler :. | Lake Thun (nn03) | Portrat der Berthe Jacques, Frau des Kunstlers | Berggipfel am Morgen | Thunersee mit Stockhornkette | Mme.Gode-Darel |
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Henri Lebasque Prints
French Painter, 1865-1937 was born in 1865 at Champign?? (Maine-et-Loire). He started his education at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts d??Angers, and moved to Paris in 1886. Here, Lebasque started studying under L??on Bonnat, and assisted Humbert with the decorative murals at the Panth??on. Around this time, Lebasque met Camille Pissarro and Auguste Renoir, who later would have a large impact on his work. Lebasque's vision was coloured by his contact with younger painters, especially Edouard Vuillard and Pierre Bonnard, founders of the The Nabis' Group and the Intimists who first favoured the calm and quietude of domestic subject matter. From his first acquaintance with Georges Seurat and Paul Signac, Lebasque learnt the significance of a colour theory which stressed the use of complementary colours in shading. Lebasque was a founding member of the Salon d'Automne in 1903 with his friend Henri Matisse. Two years later a group of artists exhibited there including Georges Rouault, Andr?? Derain, Edouard Vuillard and Henri Matisse while keeping solid links with other artists such as Gustave Rouault, Raoul Dufy, Louis Valtat and especially Henri Manguin, who made him discover the south of France. His time in South of France would lead to a radical transformation in Lebasque??s paintings, changing his colour palette forever. Other travels included the Vend??e, Normandie and Brittany, although Lebasque would always prefer the small idyllic villages of the South of France. Lebasque had some commercial success during his lifetime. He worked on the decorations at the theatre of the Champs-Elys??es and of the Transatlantique sealiner. Lebasque died at Cannet, Alpes Maritimes in 1937. His work is represented in French museums, notably Angers, Geneva (Petit Palais), Lille (Mus??e des Beaux-Arts), Nantes and Paris (Mus??e d??Orsay) as well as many more around the world. Famed as a painter of 'joy and light', Lebasque is admired for the intimacy of his subject matter and his unique delight in colour and form.
Daret, Jean
Flemish Baroque Era Painter, 1613-1668 French painter. He came from Brussels and trained there before going on the traditional journey to Italy, which not only took him to Rome but also brought him into contact with contemporary masters at Bologna. While in Italy he produced a Self-portrait (1636; St Petersburg, Hermitage), which alludes to both his ideal model and the necessary basis of his work: his right hand rests on a fragment of antique sculpture, while beside his palette in the foreground lie several sheets of drawings.
Francesco del Cossa
Italian c1435-c1478 Francesco del Cossa Location Italian painter. He was a leading representative of the Ferrarese school and was regarded, with Ercole de Roberti, as the founder of the Bolognese school. His principal works include The Glorification of March, April, and May, frescoes in the Schifanoia Palace, Ferrara; some admirable portraits of the artist contemporaries; Madonna Enthroned (Bologna); Madonna and Child with Angels, St. Liberal, and St. Lucy (National Gall. of Art, Washington, D.C.); and an altarpiece representing scenes from the life of St. Vincent Ferrer (National Gall., London, and the Vatican).