Swiss Painting
including Swiss born artists
not including Giacometti (Alberto)
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
Chronology : 1879 1901 1939
not including Giacometti (Alberto)
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
Chronology : 1879 1901 1939
1755-1756 Dutch Girl at Breakfast by Liotard
2016 SOLD for £ 4.4M by Sotheby's
Born in Geneva, Jean-Étienne Liotard traveled widely. His stay in the Levant from 1738 to 1742 gave him the opportunity to wear Turkish clothes, a practice recommended at that time to the European travelers. He acquired a deserved and desired reputation of eccentricity by keeping this type of costume after returning and by growing his beard.
Liotard was also a theorist. From the beginning, he practiced pastel rather than oil to ensure a "beau fini" (good finish), meaning a smooth picture without a visible trace from a brushstroke.
With the help from his patron Lord Duncannon later 2nd Earl of Bessborough whom he had accompanied in the Levant, the career of the "Turkish painter" was a lasting success, allowing the artist to gather a large collection of Dutch paintings of the seventeenth century.
It was tempting for the artist to imitate these masters. On July 6, 2016, Sotheby's sold for £ 4.4M a genre scene in Holland, lot 36. This oil on canvas 47 x 39 cm is arguably the most successful example of Liotard's "très beau fini".
The scene of great tranquility shows a young woman in apron busy pouring coffee (not chocolate despite a title later given to this work by comparison with one of his most famous pastels). The breakfast on the table is a miniature still life and the painting on the wall is a direct reference to the lighting effects in Dutch art.
Liotard probably made this painting for his personal use as a culmination of his know how. Undated, it appears at Christie's in 1774 in a sale of his collection. It was purchased by the Earl of Bessborough in whose family it remained until the death of the 10th Earl.
A contemporary of Chardin, Liotard wants to be a modern artist. The clothes and accessories of the Dutch woman and the decorative elements are contemporary. It is taken for sure that the work was painted during a trip in Holland, probably the stay of 1755-1756 which ended with his marriage and with the loss of his fifteen years beard that was a direct consequence.
The image is shared by Sotheby's on Wikimedia :
Liotard was also a theorist. From the beginning, he practiced pastel rather than oil to ensure a "beau fini" (good finish), meaning a smooth picture without a visible trace from a brushstroke.
With the help from his patron Lord Duncannon later 2nd Earl of Bessborough whom he had accompanied in the Levant, the career of the "Turkish painter" was a lasting success, allowing the artist to gather a large collection of Dutch paintings of the seventeenth century.
It was tempting for the artist to imitate these masters. On July 6, 2016, Sotheby's sold for £ 4.4M a genre scene in Holland, lot 36. This oil on canvas 47 x 39 cm is arguably the most successful example of Liotard's "très beau fini".
The scene of great tranquility shows a young woman in apron busy pouring coffee (not chocolate despite a title later given to this work by comparison with one of his most famous pastels). The breakfast on the table is a miniature still life and the painting on the wall is a direct reference to the lighting effects in Dutch art.
Liotard probably made this painting for his personal use as a culmination of his know how. Undated, it appears at Christie's in 1774 in a sale of his collection. It was purchased by the Earl of Bessborough in whose family it remained until the death of the 10th Earl.
A contemporary of Chardin, Liotard wants to be a modern artist. The clothes and accessories of the Dutch woman and the decorative elements are contemporary. It is taken for sure that the work was painted during a trip in Holland, probably the stay of 1755-1756 which ended with his marriage and with the loss of his fifteen years beard that was a direct consequence.
The image is shared by Sotheby's on Wikimedia :
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
Intro
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.
1
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.
2
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..
3
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.
4
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
1
breakthrough
1890 The Night
Kunstmuseum Bern
From 1890 Ferdinand Hodler tried new compositions in a quest for a symbolist imagery, in varied themes including nude figures, allegories of death, history. His system consisting of creating a rhythm from parallel horizontal stripes was named Parallelism.
In 1890, The Night is a group of recumbent nudes visited by an allegory of death. It is considered obscene in Geneva in 1891 before being lauded at the Paris Salon by Puvis de Chavannes and Rodin. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
In 1890, The Night is a group of recumbent nudes visited by an allegory of death. It is considered obscene in Geneva in 1891 before being lauded at the Paris Salon by Puvis de Chavannes and Rodin. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
2
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.
3
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.
4
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.
5
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.
6
1918 Genfersee mit Mont-Blanc am frühen Morgen
2024 SOLD for CHF 6.4M before fees 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 6.4M before fees 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 6.4M before fees 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.
