Portrait of General Ulrich Wille 1915

Ferdinand Hodler made this portrait of General Ulrich Wille with oil on canvas. Hodler is working here with a very specific palette, a sort of muted chromaticism, if that’s a word. It’s really all about those pinks, oranges, and blues. Look closely and you can see how Hodler constructed the General’s face with many small brushstrokes. They almost feel like individual tiles or pixels that come together to form a coherent image. Yet, up close, each mark retains its own character. The paint is applied with varying thickness, creating a tactile surface that catches the light, giving the portrait a sculptural quality. Notice the way the dark blue of the uniform is juxtaposed with the warmer tones of the skin. The details of the uniform give a nod to his profession, but the psychological depth comes from the way Hodler captures the General’s gaze. Hodler has always been important to me, and I can see some of his influence in the work of contemporaries like Luc Tuymans. Ultimately, it’s a work about process and about how a painting emerges through the act of painting itself.