1875 -1912 · Reaper, lumberjack, craftsman and rhythm of gesture

Hodler transforms ordinary crafts into monumental figures: mowing, cutting, repairing or sewing becomes an essential rhythm where the body and the tool act together.

Coming from a modest background and orphaned at a very young age, Ferdinand Hodler knew the hardness of work before fully entering the artistic career. His first professional scenes observe artisans, shoemakers, peasants and workers at rest with attentive realism. The decor remains sober, the light describes the tools and the posture reveals the effort. As his symbolist language develops, Hodler simplifies the gestures and gives them a more general scope. The reaper advances in a broad movement; the lumberjack raises or cuts down the ax in a curve that engages the whole body. The reaper advances in a broad movement; the lumberjack raises or cuts down the ax in a curve that engages the whole body. The reaper advances in a broad movement; the lumberjack raises or cuts down the ax in a curve that engages the whole body. These figures are not rural anecdotes. They embody a rhythmic energy that Hodler connects to his principle of parallelism: repetitions, symmetries and correspondences visible in nature as in human action. Successive versions of The Lumberjack sometimes isolate man on a light background, reducing tree and landscape to concentrate force on the silhouette. The Reaper combines lateral movement, tool and terrain line. Der Schuhmacher and Der Netzflicker, on the contrary, retain the intimacy of the workshop, the body folded around precise work. Between social realism and symbolic monumentality, Hodler on the contrary gives each profession its own structure. Der Schuhmacher and Der Netzflicker on the contrary retain the intimacy of the workshop, the body folded around precise work. Between social realism and symbolic monumentality, Hodler gives each profession its own structure. Der Schuhmacher and Der Netzflicker on the contrary retain the intimacy of the workshop, the body folded around precise work. Between social realism and symbolic monumentality, Hodler gives each profession its own structure. The tool extends the arm, the posture becomes drawing and the daily work takes on the gravity of a universal theme. There selection "Workers and Trades by Ferdinand Hodler" notably compares The Reaper and The Lumberjack. His reading favors details.

At Hodler, the tool is not an accessory: it extends the body and transforms daily effort into a monumental rhythm.