The Woodcutter
c. 1910
Medium
transfer lithograph on wove paper
Dimensions
sheet: 69.7 × 48.8 cm (27 7/16 × 19 3/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1951.10.311
Art Historical Context
Ferdinand Hodler’s *The Woodcutter* (c. 1910) captures the quiet dignity of manual labor through the medium of a transfer lithograph. Hodler, a leading Swiss artist of the Symbolist movement, often explored themes of human endurance and the harmony between people and nature. in the early twentieth century, he favored bold contours and simplified forms that give his figures a monumental presence, even in this print format on wove paper measuring nearly 70 by 49 centimeters. As a transfer lithograph, the work allowed Hodler’s expressive line to be reproduced with precision while retaining the s...