Hodler, Ferdinand

Hodler, Ferdinand (hōd`lər), 1853–1918, Swiss painter and lithographer. At first he worked in an ornamental style akin to art nouveau. Inclined toward mysticism, he visited Paris in 1891 and was attracted to the symbolist group around Gauguin. Hodler then evolved his own powerful means of expression with strong rhythmic patterns and a tight linear structure, which he called parallelism. He influenced the expressionists of the next generation. Characteristic paintings are Eurythmy (1894–95) and The Woodcutter (both: Bern).