Swiss Painting
not including Giacometti (Alberto)
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
Chronology : 1879 1901 1939
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
Chronology : 1879 1901 1939
masterpiece
1781 The Nightmare by Fuseli
Detroit Institute of Art
The Swiss born Johann Heinrich Füssli is better known with his Italianized name Fuseli and his Anglicized first name Henry.
His Nightmare, exhibited in 1782 at the Royal Academy of London, perfectly matches the trend for a Gothic revival mingling supernatural, dark magic, horror and sex. An apelike demon is crouching on the chest of a sleeping woman while a (night) mare is watching from within a dark curtain. The original oil on canvas, 102 x 127 cm, is kept at the Detroit Museum of Art.
Fuseli had taken orders as a Zwinglian minister in 1761. He was a classmate of the physiognomist Johann Kaspar Lavater and his frightening Nightmare is a psychoanalytical attempt one century before Freud and Jung. The root cause may be the rejection of Fuseli as a suitor by a niece of Lavater. It highly influenced the much younger William Blake and later the Romantics and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
The demon of The Nightmare is an incubus, which is a male with a sexual power. The artist conceives a following to that scene in the same format, titled The incubus leaving two sleeping women. A bare chested woman in awaking in full light with a horrified expression while the monster is jumping on the back of the mare through the window, leaving a ghostly veil behind them. Her female companion is sleeping beside her.
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
A smaller autograph replica oil on canvas 86 x 110 cm has surfaced from an oblivion of two centuries. It is believed that it had been supplied by the artist in 1794 to the young Swiss printer Theodor Falckeysen in order to prepare an edition. It was sold for $ 3.5M by Christie's on October 14, 2021, lot 57.
His Nightmare, exhibited in 1782 at the Royal Academy of London, perfectly matches the trend for a Gothic revival mingling supernatural, dark magic, horror and sex. An apelike demon is crouching on the chest of a sleeping woman while a (night) mare is watching from within a dark curtain. The original oil on canvas, 102 x 127 cm, is kept at the Detroit Museum of Art.
Fuseli had taken orders as a Zwinglian minister in 1761. He was a classmate of the physiognomist Johann Kaspar Lavater and his frightening Nightmare is a psychoanalytical attempt one century before Freud and Jung. The root cause may be the rejection of Fuseli as a suitor by a niece of Lavater. It highly influenced the much younger William Blake and later the Romantics and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
The demon of The Nightmare is an incubus, which is a male with a sexual power. The artist conceives a following to that scene in the same format, titled The incubus leaving two sleeping women. A bare chested woman in awaking in full light with a horrified expression while the monster is jumping on the back of the mare through the window, leaving a ghostly veil behind them. Her female companion is sleeping beside her.
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
A smaller autograph replica oil on canvas 86 x 110 cm has surfaced from an oblivion of two centuries. It is believed that it had been supplied by the artist in 1794 to the young Swiss printer Theodor Falckeysen in order to prepare an edition. It was sold for $ 3.5M by Christie's on October 14, 2021, lot 57.
ANKER
Trained in Paris, Albert Anker maintained a unique style that kindly showcases the family rural life.
He has no equal for portraits of children and of elderly people because he never falls into the sentimentality of a Bouguereau, for example. And even if the clothes are old-fashioned, the art of Anker has a timeless appeal.
The children, always serious, learn to become young Swiss people in a mood of security and quietness. The theme of the baby and the older sister is one of his favorites.
He has no equal for portraits of children and of elderly people because he never falls into the sentimentality of a Bouguereau, for example. And even if the clothes are old-fashioned, the art of Anker has a timeless appeal.
The children, always serious, learn to become young Swiss people in a mood of security and quietness. The theme of the baby and the older sister is one of his favorites.
1879 Turnstunde in Ins
2013 SOLD for CHF 7.5M by Koller
Following the reorganization of the Swiss army in 1874, gymnastics became a compulsory school branch for all boys aged 10 and over.
In 1879 Albert Anker uses that novelty as a genre theme in his native village of Ins in the canton of Bern. Boys are standing in two rows in the yard while the schoolmaster is directing the movement. The first row starts a goose step and the second row is keeping steady. All around the peaceful attendance includes younger children and two villagers with a wheel cart.The sunny weather and blue sky add a happy atmosphere.
Turnstunde in Ins, oil on canvas 96 x 148 cm, was sold for CHF 7.5M from a lower estimate of CHF 3.5M by Koller on June 21, 2013, lot 3012. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
In 1879 Albert Anker uses that novelty as a genre theme in his native village of Ins in the canton of Bern. Boys are standing in two rows in the yard while the schoolmaster is directing the movement. The first row starts a goose step and the second row is keeping steady. All around the peaceful attendance includes younger children and two villagers with a wheel cart.The sunny weather and blue sky add a happy atmosphere.
Turnstunde in Ins, oil on canvas 96 x 148 cm, was sold for CHF 7.5M from a lower estimate of CHF 3.5M by Koller on June 21, 2013, lot 3012. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
1879 Schulmädchen
2011 SOLD for CHF 5.6M by Beurret et Bailly
Schulmädchen bei den Hausaufgaben, oil on canvas 65 x 50 cm made by Anker in 1879, was sold for CHF 5.6M from a lower estimate of CHF 1.2M by Beurret & Bailly on June 18, 2011, lot 26. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
It features a young schoolgirl seriously writing on a slate board on her lap..
It features a young schoolgirl seriously writing on a slate board on her lap..
1885 Mädchen und Kleinkind
2011 SOLD for CHF 6.1M by Sotheby's
On November 28, 2011, Sotheby's sold for CHF 6.1M from a lower estimate of CHF 3M a 54 x 70 cm oil on canvas painted by Anker in 1885, lot 17. The full title is Strikendes Mädchen, Kleinkind in der Wiege Hütend. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
The toddler sleeps in his cradle in the garden. The barefoot sister, seated on a bench, is concentrated on her knitting.
The toddler sleeps in his cradle in the garden. The barefoot sister, seated on a bench, is concentrated on her knitting.
1889 Die ältere Schwester
2011 SOLD for CHF 7.4M by Koller
On December 9, 2011, Koller sold for CHF 7.4M from a lower estimate of CHF 1.5M an oil on canvas 66 x 46 cm painted by Anker circa 1889, lot 3012.
Baby is standing on the desk, trying to stay straight. The sister watches, with an enveloping movement of the arms to prevent a fall.
The image is shared by Wikimedia :
Baby is standing on the desk, trying to stay straight. The sister watches, with an enveloping movement of the arms to prevent a fall.
The image is shared by Wikimedia :
HODLER
Ferdinand Hodler (1853–1918) is Switzerland’s most important modern painter and a leading figure in European Symbolism. He bridged realism, Art Nouveau, and early modernism with a highly personal style centered on parallelism (repetition and rhythm for unity and cosmic order).
Biography and Artistic Development
Born in Bern to a poor family, Hodler was the eldest of six children. His father (a carpenter) and mother died young, and tuberculosis claimed several siblings—experiences that infused his work with themes of mortality and resilience. Orphaned at 14, he trained as a decorative painter with his stepfather before studying in Geneva.
Hodler explored fundamental human experiences:
Hodler’s self-portraits (e.g., the intense 1912 version) reveal a determined, introspective artist who saw painting as a mission to reveal hidden truths. His work remains compelling for its rhythmic power, emotional honesty, and vision of humanity embedded in nature’s grand order.
Biography and Artistic Development
Born in Bern to a poor family, Hodler was the eldest of six children. His father (a carpenter) and mother died young, and tuberculosis claimed several siblings—experiences that infused his work with themes of mortality and resilience. Orphaned at 14, he trained as a decorative painter with his stepfather before studying in Geneva.
- Early Period (1870s–1880s): Realistic portraits, genre scenes, and landscapes influenced by academic training and contemporaries. He depicted everyday life, artisans, and the Swiss Alps with growing idealism.
- Symbolist Breakthrough (1890s): Developed parallelism and focused on universal human themes (life, death, love, nature). Scandal and success followed.
- Mature Period (1900–1910): Monumental figurative works and rhythmic landscapes brought international fame, especially in Germany and Austria.
- Late Period (1910–1918): More abstracted, color-focused “planetary landscapes” and introspective portraits, including of his companion Valentine Godé-Darel (who died of cancer in 1915).
Hodler explored fundamental human experiences:
- Death and Mortality — Shaped by personal losses.
- Life, Vitality, and Nature — Cycles of day/night, youth/age, and harmony with the cosmos.
- Unity and Order — Through parallelism, reflecting societal and natural laws.
- Portraits and the Individual — Honest, psychological depictions, including self-portraits and loved ones.
- Portraits and scenes of working people, showing his roots in observation.
- The Night (1889–1890): A breakthrough work showing sleeping figures startled by a black-clad death figure. It caused scandal in Geneva for its nudity but earned acclaim in Paris. It powerfully symbolizes existential dread and awakening.
- The Day (1899–1900): A counterpart with ecstatic female nudes greeting the sunrise, representing vitality and cosmic energy.
- The Chosen One (1893–94): Angels symmetrically surrounding a kneeling youth (parallelism in action).
- Eurythmy (1895): Processional figures embodying ritual and fate.
- The Woodcutter (or Lumberjack, 1910): A dynamic, heroic figure swinging an axe in a rhythmic pose—symbolizing human struggle against nature.
- Repeated motifs of Lake Geneva (Genfersee) from Chexbres/Caux, as discussed previously—evolving from structured parallelism (1904) to abstracted color bands (1917).
- Alpine views with parallel ridges, reflections, and horizontal rhythms evoking infinity.
- Portraits of Valentine Godé-Darel in illness and death (intimate and unflinching).
- Sunset and mountain scenes approaching abstraction.
- Simplified, monumental forms with strong contours and flat areas of color.
- Parallelism for decorative unity and philosophical depth.
- Expressive color that gains prominence in later works.
- A blend of idealism and raw emotion, comparable to Puvis de Chavannes or Gustav Klimt in decorative power.
Hodler’s self-portraits (e.g., the intense 1912 version) reveal a determined, introspective artist who saw painting as a mission to reveal hidden truths. His work remains compelling for its rhythmic power, emotional honesty, and vision of humanity embedded in nature’s grand order.
Hodler’s “Parallelism” (Parallelismus) is the core of his artistic philosophy and distinctive style. Developed in the 1890s and publicly outlined in his 1897 lecture La Mission de l’artiste, it became a foundational principle for his Symbolist works in both figurative and landscape painting.
What Is Parallelism?
Hodler defined parallelism as the repetition of similar forms, lines, colors, or rhythms to create unity, harmony, and a sense of cosmic order. It is not mere symmetry but a deeper expression of nature’s underlying laws—repetition, rhythm, and parallelism as fundamental to the universe, human society, and the artist’s mission.
In Figurative Works
Parallelism is most striking in Hodler’s symbolist figure compositions, where groups of people mirror each other in pose, gesture, or expression.
The Chosen One (1893/94): Angels stand in near-identical poses around a kneeling youth, their vertical forms and gestures creating rhythmic repetition and sacred symmetry.
Eurythmy (1895): A procession of robed men walks in ordered, parallel steps, evoking ritual and the inevitability of fate (often linked to themes of death).These arrangements suggest dance, ceremony, or collective harmony, with figures often facing the same direction or mirroring each other to convey unity.
In Landscapes (Including Genfersee Views)
Hodler applied parallelism to nature by emphasizing horizontal bands, repeating mountain contours, echoed reflections, and rhythmic cloud patterns. This creates a flattened, decorative surface while evoking vastness and order.
Lake Geneva examples (referred below):
Evolution and Significance
This technique is why Hodler’s works feel both decorative and profound—they reveal the “parallel” structures that bind everything together.
What Is Parallelism?
Hodler defined parallelism as the repetition of similar forms, lines, colors, or rhythms to create unity, harmony, and a sense of cosmic order. It is not mere symmetry but a deeper expression of nature’s underlying laws—repetition, rhythm, and parallelism as fundamental to the universe, human society, and the artist’s mission.
- Formal Aspect: Repetition of shapes, gestures, or lines (e.g., rows of figures, parallel mountain ridges, echoed cloud forms).
- Philosophical/Moral Aspect: It reflects equality, order, and unity in nature and humanity. Hodler saw the world as organized in “parallel basic features” (parallele Grundzüge)—in mountains, clouds, forests, and people.
- Goal: To move beyond naturalistic imitation toward a symbolic, decorative, and monumental art that evokes eternity and inner truth. It draws from Art Nouveau/Jugendstil ornamentation but serves a Symbolist vision of universal harmony.
In Figurative Works
Parallelism is most striking in Hodler’s symbolist figure compositions, where groups of people mirror each other in pose, gesture, or expression.
The Chosen One (1893/94): Angels stand in near-identical poses around a kneeling youth, their vertical forms and gestures creating rhythmic repetition and sacred symmetry.
Eurythmy (1895): A procession of robed men walks in ordered, parallel steps, evoking ritual and the inevitability of fate (often linked to themes of death).These arrangements suggest dance, ceremony, or collective harmony, with figures often facing the same direction or mirroring each other to convey unity.
In Landscapes (Including Genfersee Views)
Hodler applied parallelism to nature by emphasizing horizontal bands, repeating mountain contours, echoed reflections, and rhythmic cloud patterns. This creates a flattened, decorative surface while evoking vastness and order.
Lake Geneva examples (referred below):
- In the 1904 Chexbres view, the curved cloud band parallels the shoreline, with its reflection in the water closing the composition into a unified whole. Distant Alps and water layers reinforce horizontal rhythms.
- The 1917 Caux sunset pushes this further into near-abstraction: horizontal color stripes dominate, with subtle repetitions in light and form dissolving topography into a cosmic vision.
Evolution and Significance
- Early Development: Rooted in Hodler’s observation of nature and influences like Japanese prints, Pre-Raphaelites, and Art Nouveau.
- Peak: Around 1900–1910, in both large figure allegories and monumental landscapes.
- Late Phase: Becomes more color-driven and abstract (as in 1917 sunsets), with parallelism serving emotional and spiritual intensity rather than strict linearity.
This technique is why Hodler’s works feel both decorative and profound—they reveal the “parallel” structures that bind everything together.
1901 Genfersee von Saint-Prex aus
2007 SOLD for CHF 11M by Sotheby's
Ferdinand Hodler faced another scandal. In 1897 he had accepted a commission for a historical fresco in Zurich. He selected to feature the battle of Marignan that had been famously lost by the Swiss. After a three year struggle, that project was accepted.
Keeping quiet after that ordeal, Hodler managed to apply his Parallelism to landscapes.
Genfersee von Saint-Prex aus is a view of the Savoy Alps beyond the lake of Geneva taken from a flowering meadow in Vaud. Cumulus clouds are floating while their reflections add narrow stripes in the blue water. The mountains are bathed in a violet backlight.
This oil on canvas 72 x 107 cm painted ca 1901 was sold for CHF 11M by Sotheby's on June 5, 2007, lot 48.
Keeping quiet after that ordeal, Hodler managed to apply his Parallelism to landscapes.
Genfersee von Saint-Prex aus is a view of the Savoy Alps beyond the lake of Geneva taken from a flowering meadow in Vaud. Cumulus clouds are floating while their reflections add narrow stripes in the blue water. The mountains are bathed in a violet backlight.
This oil on canvas 72 x 107 cm painted ca 1901 was sold for CHF 11M by Sotheby's on June 5, 2007, lot 48.
1904 Genfersee von Chexbres aus
2011 SOLD for CHF 7.1M by Sotheby's
The village of Chexbres between Montreux and Lausanne was a preferred place for Hodler's landscape paintings of the Lake of Geneva.
An ornamental example inspired by the curved shapes of Art Nouveau and Vienna Secession is puzzling by the exact symmetry and same striking white of the curved band of clouds in the sky and as mirror reflections in the lake. The similarity between sky and water separated by a low shore land makes it a fine example of the Parallelism conceived by the artist.
This oil on canvas 81 x 100 cm painted in 1904 is titled Genfersee von Chexbres aus. It was sold for CHF 7.1M from a lower estimate of CHF 3M by Sotheby's on November 28, 2011, lot 47.
The quest for horizontal Parallelism obsessed Hodler from 1890. He painted around 1908 a series of about twelve views of the Lake of Geneva conceived as rhythmic shapes of repeated patterns, in a trend to abstraction that precedes by five years Léger's Contrastes de Formes.
One of them features from top to bottom in horizontal stripes that anticipate Rothko the clouds, sky, mountain range, lake and meadow, viewed from French shore.
This oil on canvas 66 x 88 cm was slightly modified by the artist for a major retrospective in Zurich in 1917. It was sold for CHF 5M by Sotheby's on May 31, 2006, lot 37. It is titled Am Genfersee and subtitled Landschaftlicher Formenrhythmus.
An ornamental example inspired by the curved shapes of Art Nouveau and Vienna Secession is puzzling by the exact symmetry and same striking white of the curved band of clouds in the sky and as mirror reflections in the lake. The similarity between sky and water separated by a low shore land makes it a fine example of the Parallelism conceived by the artist.
This oil on canvas 81 x 100 cm painted in 1904 is titled Genfersee von Chexbres aus. It was sold for CHF 7.1M from a lower estimate of CHF 3M by Sotheby's on November 28, 2011, lot 47.
The quest for horizontal Parallelism obsessed Hodler from 1890. He painted around 1908 a series of about twelve views of the Lake of Geneva conceived as rhythmic shapes of repeated patterns, in a trend to abstraction that precedes by five years Léger's Contrastes de Formes.
One of them features from top to bottom in horizontal stripes that anticipate Rothko the clouds, sky, mountain range, lake and meadow, viewed from French shore.
This oil on canvas 66 x 88 cm was slightly modified by the artist for a major retrospective in Zurich in 1917. It was sold for CHF 5M by Sotheby's on May 31, 2006, lot 37. It is titled Am Genfersee and subtitled Landschaftlicher Formenrhythmus.
1913 Thunersee mit Stockhornkette
2006 SOLD for CHF 5.7M by Sotheby's
Beside the lake of Geneva, the lake of Thun was another preferred landscape of Ferdinand Hodler.
In the following of the Parallelism and anticipating O'Keeffe, a view of the Thunersee with the Stockhorn mountain range is divided in two halves by the shore line in the middle, separating a direct view of the mountain in the upper range from its mirror reflection in the lake.
This oil on canvas 60 x 90 cm painted ca 1913 was sold for CHF 5.7M by Sotheby's on December 6, 2006, lot 46.
In the following of the Parallelism and anticipating O'Keeffe, a view of the Thunersee with the Stockhorn mountain range is divided in two halves by the shore line in the middle, separating a direct view of the mountain in the upper range from its mirror reflection in the lake.
This oil on canvas 60 x 90 cm painted ca 1913 was sold for CHF 5.7M by Sotheby's on December 6, 2006, lot 46.
1915 Montana
2013 SOLD for CHF 8M by Sotheby's
The transformation in the landscape art of Ferdinand Hodler is slow, but the mystical intent is more and more obvious. 1915 is a terrible year for Hodler. His young mistress died of cancer in January while his son battled tuberculosis in a sanatorium at Crans Montana.
On June 4, 2013, Sotheby's sold for CHF 8M from a lower estimate of CHF 3.8M an oil on canvas 66 x 80 cm painted in 1915 featuring a landscape of Montana, lot 34.
Hodler no longer needs to observe the mountains. They are nothing more than an excuse to express his angst. The lake is extremely exaggerated or purely imaginary.
The mountain in the distance will never change. It is eternity, as opposed to the fragility of human works that are totally absent from this composition. Its symmetry increases its strength. The blue of the lake echoes the sky, and the ochres that dot the hill and its reflection mark the hope of a future life in this landscape at the creation of the world.
The mystical questioning of the mountains has not relieved Hodler. His life is broken. He died three years later.
On June 4, 2013, Sotheby's sold for CHF 8M from a lower estimate of CHF 3.8M an oil on canvas 66 x 80 cm painted in 1915 featuring a landscape of Montana, lot 34.
Hodler no longer needs to observe the mountains. They are nothing more than an excuse to express his angst. The lake is extremely exaggerated or purely imaginary.
The mountain in the distance will never change. It is eternity, as opposed to the fragility of human works that are totally absent from this composition. Its symmetry increases its strength. The blue of the lake echoes the sky, and the ochres that dot the hill and its reflection mark the hope of a future life in this landscape at the creation of the world.
The mystical questioning of the mountains has not relieved Hodler. His life is broken. He died three years later.
1917 Sonnenuntergang am Genfersee von Caux aus
2026 SOLD for CHF 7M by Koller
Sonnenuntergang am Genfersee von Caux aus (Sunset on Lake Geneva from Caux). 1917. Oil on canvas. Dated and signed lower right: 1917 F. Hodler. 60 × 80 cm.
Genfersee by Hodler. Evolution of style between two very similar landscapes :
1904 Painting: Lake Geneva from Chexbres
This is a daytime view with a broad, calm composition. Key features include:
1917 Painting: Sunset on Lake Geneva from Caux
This late work captures a sunset with a warmer, more atmospheric palette (yellows, oranges, purples, and deep blues). Key features include:
Stylistic Evolution (1904 → 1917)
Hodler's development over these ~13 years shows a clear shift:
Genfersee by Hodler. Evolution of style between two very similar landscapes :
- from Chexbres (1904), sold for CHF 7.1M by Sotheby's on November 28, 2011, lot 47 (see above).
- from Caux (1917), sold for CHF 7M by Koller on June 26, 2026, lot 3035.
1904 Painting: Lake Geneva from Chexbres
This is a daytime view with a broad, calm composition. Key features include:
- A curving shoreline and distant Alps.
- A prominent decorative cloud band in the sky mirrored in the water.
- Vibrant yet structured colors: blues and greens in the lake, with foreground vegetation.
- Strong emphasis on parallelism and rhythmic lines (Hodler's "parallelism" principle), creating decorative unity influenced by Jugendstil/Art Nouveau.
- Balanced form and color, with the cloud motif tying sky, water, and land into a harmonious, somewhat flattened oval composition.
1917 Painting: Sunset on Lake Geneva from Caux
This late work captures a sunset with a warmer, more atmospheric palette (yellows, oranges, purples, and deep blues). Key features include:
- Similar viewpoint but dissolved boundaries.
- Horizontal bands of color that create a striped, almost abstract rhythm.
- Minimal anecdotal details; the landscape feels more cosmic or "planetary" (Hodler's term for his late visionary landscapes).
- Color as the primary expressive force, with form emerging through subtle vibrations and nuances rather than sharp contours.
Stylistic Evolution (1904 → 1917)
Hodler's development over these ~13 years shows a clear shift:
- From Line/Drawing to Color Supremacy: In 1904, strong contours, parallelism, and decorative lines (e.g., the cloud band) organize the picture plane. By 1917, lines soften or dissolve; color drives the composition, living "through the form" as Hodler noted in 1917.
- From Decorative Unity to Cosmic Abstraction: The 1904 work uses Jugendstil-inspired ornament for harmony within a recognizable topography. The 1917 sunset reduces the scene to essential horizontal layers, evoking infinity and universal order ("planetarische Landschaften"). Boundaries between sky, water, and land blur, prioritizing inner vision over description.
- Color and Atmosphere: Earlier works balance form and color with clear daylight structure. Late works use glowing, reduced palettes and subtle gradations for emotional intensity and immateriality.
- Format and Mood: The 1904 canvas is larger and more panoramic; the 1917 one is intimate yet monumental in effect, contemplative, and stripped to essentials—reflecting Hodler's late-life focus on pure landscape as a path to the universal.
1918 Genfersee mit Mont-Blanc am frühen Morgen
2024 SOLD for CHF 7.4M by Koller
In poor health with pneumonia in the fall of 1917, Ferdinand Hodler looks at the lake and mountains from the window of his apartment on Quai du Mont-Blanc 29 in Geneva.
Around March 1918 the artist engages in a series of 18 paintings up to 150 cm wide from that viewpoint, resuming his lifelong obsession with horizontal parallelism including a reinforced horizon.
A version in smaller size features the shore in a very thin line, the lake and the mountains in the morning before sunrise. Its simple and effective composition excludes the row of swans that appear in some opuses. It was titled Lever de soleil in the solo exhibition that opened on May 11 in a gallery on Geneva.
This oil on canvas 66 x 80 cm was sold for CHF 7.4M from a lower estimate of CHF 4M by Koller on November 29, 2024, lot 3024. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
This series was the ultimate by Hodler who died on May 19, 1918.
Around March 1918 the artist engages in a series of 18 paintings up to 150 cm wide from that viewpoint, resuming his lifelong obsession with horizontal parallelism including a reinforced horizon.
A version in smaller size features the shore in a very thin line, the lake and the mountains in the morning before sunrise. Its simple and effective composition excludes the row of swans that appear in some opuses. It was titled Lever de soleil in the solo exhibition that opened on May 11 in a gallery on Geneva.
This oil on canvas 66 x 80 cm was sold for CHF 7.4M from a lower estimate of CHF 4M by Koller on November 29, 2024, lot 3024. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
This series was the ultimate by Hodler who died on May 19, 1918.
