Jeanne Günzburger

Artist Ferdinand Hodler (Swiss, 1853-1918)

Place of OriginSwitzerland

Date1912

DimensionsPainting: 68 1/8 × 33 5/8 in. (173 × 85.4 cm)
Frame: 73 1/4 × 38 × 2 in. (186.1 × 96.5 × 5.1 cm)

MediumOil on canvas

ClassificationPaintings

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1977.40

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 03

Label TextLoose lines that vary in color follow the contours of the face, body, and clothing of Jeanne Amélie Günzburger-Malan, emphasizing the figure against the pale, pinkish background. Typical of Swiss artist Ferdinand Hodler’s portraits, Günzberger-Malan sits frontally oriented and mostly centered in the composition, gazing out at the viewer. With a tilt of the head and arms open to rest casually on the chair, she seems to convey a sense of self-assured ease, also echoed in her modern sense of fashion: a loose, corset-less gown. Günzburger-Malan was the wife of Geneva businessman Louis S. Günzberger, who was an avid collector of Hodler’s work. Internationally celebrated in his day, Hodler painted many genres and subjects. From about 1900, he was especially in demand for his portraits, which he liked to use as a vehicle for experimenting with the expressiveness of his lines and colors.Published ReferencesLoosli, Charles Albert, Ferdinand Hodler. Leben, Werk und Nachlass, Berne, 1921-1924.

Loosli, Charles Albert, F. Hodler, Mappenwerk, Zurich, 1919, pl. 123.

Müller, Werner Y., Die Kunst Ferdinand Hodlers, Zurich, 1941, II, cat. no. 176, pl. 176.

Brüschweiler, Jura, "Catalogue des oeuvers de Ferdinand Hodler léguéés au Musée d'art et d'histoire par M. et Mme Hector Hodler-Ruch," Genava, XIII, 1965, pp. 184-185, repr.

"Acquisitions of Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Art by Museums," Burlington Magazine, vol. 120, no. 908, Nov. 1978, repr. opp. p. 792.

"News: New Acquisitions," Ohio Museums Quarterly, vol. 3, no. 1, Spr. 1979, p. 15.

"1978 Annual Report," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, vol. 21, no.1, 1979, p. 7, repr. p. 14.

Hirsh, Sharon L., Ferdinand Hodler, New York, 1982, p. 38, repr. fig. 37, p. 37.

Wipplinger, Hans-Peter, ed., Ferdinand Hodler: Elective Affinities from Klimt to Schiele, Vienna, Leopold Museum, 2017, p. 62 (in German), p. 63 (in English), repr. (col.) fig. 4.

Exhibition HistoryZurich, Kunsthaus, Ferdinand Hodler, 1917, no. 319.

Geneva, Galerie Moos, Ferdinand Hodler, 1918, no. 95, pl. 27.

Paris, Musée du Jen de Paume, Exposition d'art Suisse, 1934, no. 114.

Basel, Kunsthalle, Ferdinand Hodler, 1934, no. 114.

New York, Durand-Ruel Galleries, Ferdinand Hodler, 1940, no. 11.

San Francisco, De Young Memorial Museum, Ferdinand Hodler, 1940, no. 11.

Thun, Hodler Gedächtnis Ausstellung, 1953, no. 64.