Landscape at the Jonction at Geneva 1878

Editor: This is Ferdinand Hodler’s "Landscape at the Jonction at Geneva" from 1878, painted en plein-air with oil paints. I find it so serene. There's something really inviting about the composition. What draws you in? Curator: Ah, Hodler. He could find the extraordinary in the ordinary, couldn’t he? For me, it’s the almost palpable stillness. You can practically feel the summer heat radiating off that path. Notice how the composition almost funnels your gaze? That road gently guides you into the heart of the painting. Doesn't it make you want to stroll along there, maybe with a dog or a very chatty friend? Editor: It does. It almost feels like a stage set, with those trees acting as curtains on either side. Were landscapes a departure for Hodler at this point? Curator: In a way, yes! This piece is an early work. Later, he'd become much more preoccupied with symmetry and, some might say, even a touch of monumentalism. Think of this landscape as a younger, perhaps less certain Hodler, just playing with the light and shadow of a Geneva summer. Does seeing it like that change your impression? Editor: Absolutely! Knowing it's an early work gives it such a sense of…possibility. The painting is like Hodler finding his own road, so to speak. Curator: Exactly! And sometimes, those early explorations are the most honest, the most revealing. We all start somewhere. And what a pleasant somewhere this is, eh?