{"id":985,"date":"2021-09-14T11:39:48","date_gmt":"2021-09-14T09:39:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/hodlers-holzfaeller\/maltechnik\/"},"modified":"2022-08-26T09:25:57","modified_gmt":"2022-08-26T07:25:57","slug":"technique","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.hodler2021.ch\/en\/hodlers-holzfaeller\/technique\/","title":{"rendered":"Painting technique"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u201cCheck the measurements!\u201d\n<\/h2>\n\n
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Ferdinand Hodler did not simply rely on his eye, he checked the measurements of his models and landscapes. And he used different copying methods so as to produce his paintings efficiently.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Anonymous, Hodler painting the Reaper<\/em> on the roof of his studio, rue du Rh\u00f4ne, Genf ca. 1910<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Ferdinand Hodler was meticulous in his approach to his motifs, after all, his main concern was to reproduce nature precisely. In the interests of his pictorial ideas he tried out and measured up several models. And he also urged his artist-colleagues to check the measurements. There is evidence that for The Woodcutter<\/em> he tested a younger and an older worker.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cHodler stood und front of a young lady in his shirt sleeves fidgeting with his compass  \u2026 around her face in a way that could scare you.\u201d<\/em><\/p>Johann\u00e8s Widmer describing a scene, Widmer, 1919, pp 14\u201315<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Tracing nature: grid frame<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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In order to capture a figure precisely, Hodler placed a frame spanned with a net out of cords in front of the model. With this he was able to transfer the figure to the corresponding line grid on the canvas or paper. In his view, that net frame was an important tool, and it has been described by several visitors to his studio. The line grid even remains partially visible in the finished painting and can be revealed by technological means. Ferdinand Hodler described his approach in a sketchbook. When asked by an artist-colleague how he had managed to depict a knight in the Marignano frescoes so well, he replied: \u201cI depicted him through the net, millimetre by millimetre.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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An analysis of all the paintings as of the mid-1890s on which Hodler worked directly with a model show net frame lines, unlike the copies of a motif which he made by hand. To date however, no Woocutter<\/em> painting has been examined technologically.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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