Object Notes

Ferdinand Hodler's figure raises an axe high above his head. The woodcutter's stance, legs wide and muscles taut, stresses the exertion of his labor. Hodler places the woodcutter against a blank backdrop of a white sky. The thick Swiss forest is merely hinted at as all attention is directed at the forester's effort. The woodcutter's determination and individuality symbolize a broad cultural identity.

Breton women in characteristic white headdresses stand beside a rickety wood fence. A more distant Breton sits beside a cow and goose. Paul Gauguin found the refreshingly primitive agricultural society of Brittany's countryside inspiration for new artistic conventions. In this print, Gauguin folds the distant rolling hills into two vertical planes bedecked by smudges of trees and fence lines.

Polite butterfly wings frame this striking landscape, enlivened by a spectrum of warm and cool hues. A majestic couple and servant stand beside classical architecture. In a lush garden, a mysterious woman in purple sits by a golden Roman statue. A flowing watercolor on silk, this fan reveals Charles Conder's interest in Japanese and Chinese scrolls.

In this intimate lithograph, Odilon Redon portrays Helene, a pretty young courtesan. Wearing a veil and turning her head to the right, she stands in front of an indistinct backdrop. Silent women with closed eyes recur in Redon's work as sleepers, dreamers, or visionaries.

Franz von Stuck's Lucifer is the pendant to his first masterpiece, The Guardian of Paradise, an image of a heroic, idealized youth. Von Stuck etches a strong, sculpted man cloaked in dark wings encircled in shadow.

In this print, Franz von Stuck provides the viewer with the meaning of his composition in the title: Sensuality. The voluptuous naked woman, with a thick snake curling around her body, glances coquettishly from under heavily lidded eyes.

This study reveals Edward Burne-Jones' original design for a character from the tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Heavy panels of fabric fold over the full-length figure. In the upper corner, Burne-Jones sketches thin, straight lines to design the face and shoulders of the character.