A modern art pioneer, renowned Swiss painter Ferdinand Hodler (1853–1918) created works that range from vast symbolist compositions to intimate, realist portraits and nearly abstract landscape paintings. This exhibition of approximately sixty works, primarily on paper, will focus on the role of drawing in his practice, from quick compositional sketches to elaborate oil studies. Most of the drawings Hodler produced were preparatory studies for his large-scale figure compositions; these offer a fascinating account of his working process, which involved technical experiments with imprints, tracing, and collages. A few of his portrait drawings will also be featured, including a poignant series in which he recorded the illness and death of his lover Valentine Godé-Darel.

Nearly all the works will be borrowed from the Musée Jenisch in Vevey, Switzerland, a town on Lake Geneva that Hodler visited frequently. In 2014, the Musée Jenisch received a bequest of more than six hundred drawings by Hodler, gathered over fifty years by artist and collector Rudolf Schindler. These rarely seen drawings offer a compelling survey of Hodler’s singular contribution to early modernism.

Ferdinand Hodler: Drawings—Selections from the Musée Jenisch Vevey is organized by the Morgan Library & Museum in collaboration with the Musée Jenisch Vevey.

This exhibition is made possible by Louisa Stude Sarofim, Beatrice Stern, and the Vasari Fund for Exhibitions, with support from the Wolfgang Ratjen Stiftung, Liechtenstein, and the Alex Gordon Fund for Exhibitions.

Exhibition Date: June 16 - October 1, 2023

Location: The Morgan Library and Museum

225 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016

Hours: 

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10:30 am to 5 pm

Friday from 10:30 am to 7 pm

Admission:

$22 Adults

$14 Seniors (65 and over)

$13 Students (with current ID)

Free to members and children 12 and under (must be accompanied by an adult)

Discounted admission of $13 is available for disabled visitors, admission is free for accompanying caregivers.

Free Fridays

Our Free Friday programs take place 5 to 7 pm every Friday. Reservations are required.

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Masks are required for attending all public programs and appointments in the Drawing Study Center and Reading Room.

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