3035 - FERDINAND HODLER

FERDINAND HODLER (Bern 1853–1918 Geneva) Taker of the Oath, Unanimity. 1912/13. Oil on paper mounted on canvas. Signed lower right: F. Hodler. 34.5 × 21 cm. Provenance: - Probably auction at Galerie Pro Arte, Peseux, June 28, 1951, lot 343. - Private collection, until 1954. - Auction at Gutekunst & Klipstein, Bern, November 12, 1954, lot 497. - Important private collection, Switzerland, from 1975. - Private collection, Switzerland. - Auction at Koller Zurich, July 2, 2021, lot 3037. - Private collection, Switzerland, acquired at the above auction. Exhibited: Geneva 1918, Exposition Ferdinand Hodler, Galerie Moos, May 11–June 30, 1918, probably no. 93 or 107 (stamp on the reverse). Bibliography: - Jura Brüschweiler: Ferdinand Hodler. Steiner Collection, Zurich 1997, p. 94, no. 243 (ill.). - Oskar Bätschmann and Paul Müller: Ferdinand Hodler. Catalogue raisonné der Gemälde, ed. Swiss Institute for Art Research, vol. III-2, Die Figurenbilder, Zurich 2017, p. 471, no. 1584 (ill.). Between 1911 and 1913, Hodler used this pose of a man taking an oath in various compositional studies, adapting it for different positions in preparation for the large mural in Hanover City Hall. It first appears on the far right of the composition in designs dating from 1911. The motif of the individual figure wearing slit trousers is documented in pencil studies likely executed between 1911 and 1912. In the 1912 version of the Hanover painting (catalog raisonné no. 1495), the figure can be identified as a man taking an oath immediately to the right of the speaker, his posture slightly altered. In the final version of the same work, Hodler incorporated him as a secondary figure into the group to the right of the speaker, where he is, however, largely obscured by figures in the foreground. * The full tax is charged on this item marked *; that is, VAT is charged on the amount and will be refunded to purchasers who provide a validly stamped export declaration.