Lake Geneva from Chexbres 1905

Ferdinand Hodler created this landscape painting of Lake Geneva, probably in his studio, using oil on canvas. I’m totally drawn into this calm, serene scene, it's really pretty. Hodler simplified the composition and carefully balanced the colours. Look at the bands of blues and greens that create a sense of depth and distance. I like the balance between the flatness and depth in this painting, it’s like he's flattened the landscape into shapes, so simple but effective! I wonder what Hodler was thinking when he made this? Maybe he was trying to capture the stillness of the lake, the quietness of the landscape. He captured the essence of a place. I bet other painters looked at this and thought, "I want to do that!" Hodler and other painters are in conversation, inspiring each other across time. Painting embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, it allows for multiple readings.