Portrait of Georges Navazza 1916

This is Ferdinand Hodler’s oil on canvas portrait of Georges Navazza. What I notice first is the way Hodler builds up the face with these little strokes of contrasting colours; pinks, blues, and yellows, sort of like facets of a gem. The image feels very constructed, like an exercise, each mark a step in the process. Up close, you can see the paint is applied in these visible, deliberate strokes. It's not about hiding the process. Look at the way he models the suit with thick, almost sculptural marks of black. The white of the ground peeps through, which makes the image feel immediate, unresolved, but somehow, completely there. The small patch of pale blue in the upper right corner almost looks like a mistake, but it seems to work. Hodler reminds me of someone like Guston, who also embraced a raw and honest approach to painting, where the struggle to create is part of the final image. Art is really about a conversation, an ongoing dialogue between artists, and Hodler certainly has something to say.