{"id":1058,"date":"2021-09-14T11:46:11","date_gmt":"2021-09-14T09:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/hodlers-holzfaeller\/wirkung\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T16:23:53","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T15:23:53","slug":"impact","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/en\/hodlers-holzfaeller\/impact\/","title":{"rendered":"Impact"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

Always quick to strike\n<\/h2>\n\n
\n

Be it on election posters, in caricatures or in art: The Woodcutter<\/em> strikes a hefty blow.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"\"
Hodler exhibited this Woodcutter<\/em> at the 20th exhibition of the Berlin Secession in 1910. Ferdinand Hodler, The Woodcutter<\/em>, 1910, oil on canvas, 128 \u00d7 105 cm, Museum zu Allerheiligen Schaffhausen, Depositum Sturzenegger-Stiftung<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

The<\/em> Woodcutter<\/em> rose to fame very quickly. Shortly after the motif was created, it became popular in caricatures and for commenting on politics. Increasingly, contemporary art is questioning the vigorous Woodcutter<\/em> and his symbolism.

Not long after the first presentation of TheWoodcutter<\/em> in Germany in 1910, the first caricatures and satirical drawings using the popular motif appeared. TheWoodcutter<\/em> quickly became part of the European \u201cpictorial canon\u201d. In addition to art-specific themes, the Woodcutter was caricatured above all in politics and in connection with the two world wars. In Germany, the motif was so successful that it was even used to comment on domestic policy debates.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

The German oak resists!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 1914 Arpad Schmidhammer depicted Ferdinand Hodler as a woodcutter who struggles with a huge German oak tree and gets himself in a twist. When Hodler signed the protest against the bombarding of Reims cathedral by the Germans, people in the neighbouring country scorned him from then on. Fearing the effect on his clients, Hodler apologised soon afterwards for protesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2013 But, Mr Hodler, how could you sign the mendacious declaration against the German barbarism?
\u2013 Yes, but you know, every better-off German already has a woodcutter or a reaper by me hanging on the wall \u2013 it\u2019s high time I looked around for French or English clients!\u201d <\/em>\u201cHodler!\u201d, in Jugend<\/em>, 7.10.1914<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
John Heartfield, \u201cSo w\u00fcrde Tell in unseren Tagen handeln\u201d , in Volks-Illustrierte<\/em>, Nr. 47, 24.11.1937<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"\"
Arpad Schmidhammer, \u201cAus der internationalen Ausstellung: Ferdinand Hodler Holzf\u00e4ller Nr. 275\u201d , in Jugend<\/em>, Nr. 42, 04.10.1914, S. 1232<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Illustration Max Spring, in Nebelspalter<\/em>, Juni 2005<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The motif can be easily employed for political commentaries, even today. In 2005 Max Spring drew TheWoodcutter<\/em> splitting a wooden barrier at a border crossing. The drawing illustrates the debate about the free movement of persons between Switzerland and the EU countries, whereby the woodcutter here represents progressive values as he battles against border controls.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n

Women take up axes!<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

Nonchalant but determined, and with an axe on her shoulder, the artist Marie-Antoinette Chiarenza from the artists\u2019 group RELAX strides towards the viewers in the photograph Je suis une femme pourquoi pas vous <\/em>? (I\u2019m a woman, why not you?); in the background is a picture of Hodler\u2019s Woodcutter<\/em>. A challenge? The photograph has a feminist message: Women are now taking up the axe themselves. At the same time, RELAX also cites Joseph Beuys\u2019 pose in La rivoluzione siamo Noi<\/a><\/em> <\/em>also takes a feminist approach to the Woodcutter<\/em> and with her Pin-up \u00e0 la tron\u00e7onneuse<\/em> (Chain saw pin-up) parodies sexist depictions in girlie calendars of the kind still to be found hanging in numerous workshops or repair shops.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"\"
Ana Axpe, Pin-up \u00e0 la tron\u00e7onneuse<\/em>, 2001, 130 \u00d7 90 cm, C-Print in a light box, Kunstsammlung der Schweizerischen Mobiliar Genossenschaft<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"\"
RELAX (chiarenza & hauser & co), je suis une femme pourquoi pas vous ?<\/em>, 1995\/2001, photograph, 240 \u00d7 168 cm, Kunstmuseum Bern, deposit of the Kunstsammlung der Schweizerischen Mobiliar Genossenschaft<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

A Wood full of Axes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The artist Thomas Hirschhorn focused on the axe in The Woodcutter<\/em> as a symbol of right-wing political monopolization. In the exhibition Swiss Made II<\/em> in the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg he presented countless homemade axes of all sizes. Hirschorn was alluding to The Woodcutter<\/em> in the Federal Council\u2019s office, who has become an expression of aggressive, conservative politics. The axe stands for typical Swiss values like earthiness, insubordination and stubbornness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

Aslant<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 1995 Raoul Marek combined a Woodcutter<\/em> painting with a barrier made of cords and brass posts for his intervention Lieber F.H. \u2026<\/em> (Dear F.H. …). In it, the posts slant in the opposite direction to the felled tree thus rendering the protective function of the barrier absurd. Marek\u2019s installation reflected the political situation in the country in 1992, when Switzerland rejected accession to the European Economic Area and was therefore in danger of becoming disconnected from the rest of the world.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Woodcutter rose to fame very quickly. Shortly after the motif was created, it became popular in caricatures and for commenting on politics. Increasingly, contemporary art is questioning the vigorous Woodcutter and his symbolism. Not long after the first presentation of TheWoodcutter in Germany in 1910, the first caricatures and satirical drawings using the popular […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":360,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1058","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nImpact - Hodlers Holzf\u00e4ller | Kunstmuseum Luzern<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/en\/hodlers-holzfaeller\/impact\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Impact - Hodlers Holzf\u00e4ller | Kunstmuseum Luzern\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Woodcutter rose to fame very quickly. Shortly after the motif was created, it became popular in caricatures and for commenting on politics. Increasingly, contemporary art is questioning the vigorous Woodcutter and his symbolism. Not long after the first presentation of TheWoodcutter in Germany in 1910, the first caricatures and satirical drawings using the popular […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/en\/hodlers-holzfaeller\/impact\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hodlers Holzf\u00e4ller | Kunstmuseum Luzern\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-11T15:23:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/1427-schaffhausen.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"940\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1158\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/en\/hodlers-holzfaeller\/impact\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/en\/hodlers-holzfaeller\/impact\/\",\"name\":\"Impact - Hodlers Holzf\u00e4ller | Kunstmuseum Luzern\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/en\/hodlers-holzfaeller\/impact\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/en\/hodlers-holzfaeller\/impact\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/1427-schaffhausen-831x1024.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-09-14T09:46:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-11T15:23:53+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/en\/hodlers-holzfaeller\/impact\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/en\/hodlers-holzfaeller\/impact\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/en\/hodlers-holzfaeller\/impact\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/1427-schaffhausen-831x1024.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/1427-schaffhausen-831x1024.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/en\/hodlers-holzfaeller\/impact\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Hodlers Holzf\u00e4ller\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Impact\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/\",\"name\":\"Hodlers Holzf\u00e4ller | Kunstmuseum Luzern\",\"description\":\"Digitale Tour\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Hodlers Holzf\u00e4ller | Kunstmuseum Luzern\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/logo.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/logo.svg\",\"width\":38,\"height\":64,\"caption\":\"Hodlers Holzf\u00e4ller | Kunstmuseum Luzern\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Impact - Hodlers Holzf\u00e4ller | Kunstmuseum Luzern","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/en\/hodlers-holzfaeller\/impact\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Impact - Hodlers Holzf\u00e4ller | Kunstmuseum Luzern","og_description":"The Woodcutter rose to fame very quickly. Shortly after the motif was created, it became popular in caricatures and for commenting on politics. Increasingly, contemporary art is questioning the vigorous Woodcutter and his symbolism. Not long after the first presentation of TheWoodcutter in Germany in 1910, the first caricatures and satirical drawings using the popular […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/en\/hodlers-holzfaeller\/impact\/","og_site_name":"Hodlers Holzf\u00e4ller | Kunstmuseum Luzern","article_modified_time":"2026-02-11T15:23:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":940,"height":1158,"url":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/1427-schaffhausen.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/en\/hodlers-holzfaeller\/impact\/","url":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/en\/hodlers-holzfaeller\/impact\/","name":"Impact - Hodlers Holzf\u00e4ller | Kunstmuseum Luzern","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/en\/hodlers-holzfaeller\/impact\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/en\/hodlers-holzfaeller\/impact\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/1427-schaffhausen-831x1024.jpg","datePublished":"2021-09-14T09:46:11+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-11T15:23:53+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/en\/hodlers-holzfaeller\/impact\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/en\/hodlers-holzfaeller\/impact\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/en\/hodlers-holzfaeller\/impact\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/1427-schaffhausen-831x1024.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/1427-schaffhausen-831x1024.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/en\/hodlers-holzfaeller\/impact\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Startseite","item":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Hodlers Holzf\u00e4ller","item":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Impact"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/","name":"Hodlers Holzf\u00e4ller | Kunstmuseum Luzern","description":"Digitale Tour","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/#organization","name":"Hodlers Holzf\u00e4ller | Kunstmuseum Luzern","url":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/logo.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/logo.svg","width":38,"height":64,"caption":"Hodlers Holzf\u00e4ller | Kunstmuseum Luzern"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1058"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1058\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1347,"href":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1058\/revisions\/1347"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}