Artwork
Blumenpflückendes Mädchen
Blumenpflückendes Mädchen is an oil painting by the Post-Impressionist artist Ferdinand Hodler. It dates from 1897 and is held in the collection of the Kunsthaus Zürich.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1897, *Blumenpflückendes Mädchen* is an oil painting by Swiss artist Ferdinand Hodler. The work is part of the Kunsthaus Zürich’s collection and exemplifies Hodler’s shift from early realism toward the symbolic, rhythm‑based approach he later called “parallelism.” The composition centers on a solitary figure engaged in a quiet activity, rendered with a restrained palette.
Subject & Meaning
The canvas shows a young girl with long, curly brown hair gathered into a bun, dressed in a white shirt beneath a blue dress. She kneels on the ground, her gaze fixed on a handful of flowers she is gathering, conveying a moment of focused contemplation and the simple pleasure of nature’s bounty.
Technique & Style
Hodler employs oil pigments to achieve smooth tonal transitions and a subtle interplay of light and shadow. The background—a muted green wall—provides a calm backdrop that accentuates the figure’s form. The composition reflects his emerging “parallelism,” arranging shapes and colors in a rhythmic, almost musical pattern that moves beyond strict realism.
History & Provenance
After its completion, the painting entered the holdings of the Kunsthaus Zürich, where it remains on view. Its acquisition reflects the museum’s commitment to representing key phases of Hodler’s career, particularly his late nineteenth‑century output that bridges realism and emerging modernist tendencies.
Context
*Blumenpflückendes Mädchen* belongs to the broader Post‑Impressionist movement, a period when artists explored personal symbolism and structural harmony. Hodler’s Swiss background and his interest in portraiture and landscape inform the work’s intimate scale, while the subject—a girl gathering flowers—echoes contemporary themes of innocence and the pastoral ideal.
Artist & collection
Artist
Ferdinand Hodler (March 14, 1853 – May 19, 1918) was a Swiss painter. He is one of the best-known Swiss painters of the nineteenth century. His early works were portraits, landscapes, and genre paintings in a realistic…
