Portrait of an unknown girl (Girl from Bern)

Details

Bätschmann/Müller 804. This painting is registered in the online database of the Schweizerischen Instituts für Kunstwissenschaft (SIK-ISEA) under the number 36987 (https://www.sik-isea.ch/de-ch/). Literature: Loosli, Carl Albert, Ferdinand Hodler. Leben, Werk und Nachlass, Bern 1924, vol. VI, no. 142, p. 58; Müller, Werner Y., Die Kunst Ferdinand Hodlers. Reife und Spätwerk. 1895-1918, vol. II, Zurich 1941, cat. no.44, p. 480, with ill. 59; Hugelshofer, Walter, Ferdinand Hodler. Eine Monographie, Zurich 1952, cat. no.35, p. XI and 51, with black and white ill. p. 51.Exhibitions:Presumably Galerie Henneberg, Katalog der Ausstellung, Zurich 1911, cat. no. 51, p. 4;Ferdinand Hodler im Zürcher Kunsthaus, Zurich 1917, cat. no.114, not ill.;Hodler-Gedächtnis-Ausstellung, Kunstmuseum, Bern 1921, cat. no.303, not ill., with label on the reverse on the stretcher;Ferdinand Hodler, Galerie Neupert, Zurich 1928, cat. no.17.Provenance:Collection of/Galerie Karl Gustav Henneberg (1847-1918), Zurich 1917;Galerie Neupert, “collection of G. Henneberg”, Zurich, 20.-22.10.1919, lot 73, with black and white ill. plate XIII;Galerie Neupert, Zurich, until 1921;Galerie Neupert, Zurich 4.4.1936, lot 140, with black and white ill. plate 20; private collection, until 2001;Galerie Michael Haas, Berlin, 2006 to 2008; private collection, 2008/09; Van Ham, Cologne 3.12.2009, lot 64, with label on the back of the frame; private collection, Europe.

Description

• Sensitive character study of a girl from Bern using Hodler’s clear, realistic style from around 1900
• Pure reduction to the depiction, devoid of narrative details
• From the famous Zurich collection of Karl Gustav Henneberg (1847-1918)

“This work is characterised by its clear, fresh drawing.” auction catalogue “Sammlung G. Henneberg”, 1919. In the time around 1898, Ferdinand Hodler became heavily involved in portrait painting and wrote: “The purpose of a portrait is to evoke a human being in its unconditionality, not just partially or approximately, but as an absolute whole. The head is the most expressive part of a portrait. The physiognomy leaves a formative impression: a portrait should also leave a lasting impression on the viewer.” During this period, he created a whole series of charming portraits, some of people from the artist’s circle, others of unknown peasant girls. The Bernese girl with finely modelled, light pink flesh looks at the viewer clearly and attentively; as so often in Hodler portraits, she also tilts her head slightly to one side. The close-up image focusses solely on the sitter and omits any narrative details. Hodler’s draughtsmanship is wonderfully recognisable in this portrait. Hodler emphasises her youthfulness with the pastel yellow background. “The sitter in the portrait, who appears in the literature under the title Bernese Girl, could not be identified. The reference in the catalogue of the Bern exhibition of 1921 that it was the artist’s cousin could not be confirmed. The only clue to the motif is provided by Hodler’s stay in Uetendorf, a municipality in the canton of Bern, in June 1898. The artist wrote to Léon Genoud in Fribourg from Uetendorf on 24 June 1898 (cf. Archive Bibliothèque des Arts et Métiers, Fribourg). The drawing and formal execution of the head and hair are comparable with the portraits of Joseph Viktor Widmann, Clara Battié and Berthe Hodler-Jacques, which date from 1898. In a sketch from 1896, the mouth and eyebrows of Hodler’s wife show similar lines.” (Monika Brunner, in: Bätschmann/Müller, 2012, p. 194).