Hodler and Jeanne

Painter – Model – Collection

September 12 – October 10, 2026

National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina

As part of the Drawing Bridges project, realized in collaboration with the Embassy of Switzerland in Bosnia and Herzegovina and with the support of NOA Contemporary, the National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina is pleased to present the exhibition Hodler and Jeanne: Painter – Model – Collection.

The exhibition will officially open on 12 September at 5:50 PM at the National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The painter Ferdinand Hodler was one of Switzerland’s most important artists and is often regarded as the country’s foremost national painter. Throughout his life, he remained closely connected to Switzerland, although he achieved international acclaim during his own lifetime. By the end of the nineteenth century, he had gained recognition in Paris, Berlin, and Vienna, exhibiting at the most prestigious exhibitions of the period. Hodler openly expressed his opposition to violence, injustice, and destruction of national heritage, and consistently defended every form of human freedom. He refused to compromise these principles, even when doing so jeopardized both his career and his financial security.

He was an original and incomparable master of line and rhythm, the last great painter of monumental compositions inspired by historical themes, and one of the first artists outside France to embrace Impressionist ideas. Yet everything he created was marked by a distinctive artistic language that resists simple categorization into movements or periods. His early works belong to Realism, while his large-scale battle scenes are rooted in Historicism, occasionally reflecting elements of Romanticism inspired by a distant and glorious national past. His allegorical compositions established him as one of the leading painters of Art Nouveau (Jugendstil). Through his landscapes, he bridged the gap between Turner and Impressionists. Portraits such as Valentine Godé-Darel on her deathbed delve deeply into Expressionism, while his designs for Swiss banknotes, celebrating the dignity of human labor, may be seen as precursors of Socialist Realist poster art. All of these achievements are the work of a single artist.

The Sarajevo collection of Ferdinand Hodler owes its existence to Jeanne Charles Cerani Čišić, one of the artist’s most enduring models, who assembled an exceptional body of works during her more than fifteen-year association with Hodler’s studio. Today, the greater part of this collection is preserved in the National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo.

The collection comprises drawings, watercolours, oil paintings, and prints, offering a valuable insight into Hodler’s creative process. A significant portion of the works consists of preparatory studies and sketches for some of the artist’s most important compositions. Thematically, they encompass portraits, landscapes, historical scenes, allegorical subjects, and design studies, reflecting the breadth and diversity of Hodler’s artistic practice.