Born in Berne, Switzerland, in 1853, Hodler was considered to be one of the leading modernist painters of his time.



Although he lived in Geneva until his death in 1918, his career spanned Vienna, Berlin and Munich and was even touched by a little scandal; in 1891 his painting La Nuit was banned from an exhibition in Geneva for being ‘obscene’. Judge for yourself…

At the time, as has work was selling well in Zurich and Frankfurt, Hodler wasn’t bothered much about the free publicity. His numerous orders allowed to him to experiment more as he got older, with his paintings becoming simpler and more decorative.

You can read more about the life and work of Ferdinand Hodler (8 pages of it! Nicely illustrated though) here on the Musée d’Orsay site. Also, whilst looking around the web, I came across this gallery of 24 Hodler paintings that you might find interesting.

Here’s all the essential information for the Ferdinand Hodler exhibition at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris

When: 13th November 2007 – 3rd February 2008
Where: Musée d’Orsay, 1, rue de la Légion d’Honneur, Paris 7th arrondissement. Métro Solferino (line 12) or RER Musée d’Orsay (line C), or bus n°s 24, 63, 68, 69, 73, 83, 84, 94 (map here)
Opening times: Open every day except Monday, 9.30am to 6pm (9.45pm on Thursdays)
Entrance fee: 7.50 euros (covers both the main and temporary exhibition). Concessions: 5.50 euros. Free admission for certain cases
Official site: Musée d’Orsay