Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Hodler paintings attract good prices in Zurich

Two paintings by Swiss artist Ferdinand Hodler fetched more than SFr3 million each ($2.66 million) at auction in Zurich on Monday evening.

An oil – Lake of Thun with the Stockhorn chain in winter – fetched SFr3.84 million, although this was below the estimate of between SFr4million and SFr6 million put on it by auctioneers Christie’s.

Another of Hodler’s works – Piz Corvatsch – went for SFr3.48 million, way above the estimate of between SFr1.8 million and SFr2.5 million.

Also at the auction, a record SFr3.24 million was paid for a recently discovered painting, The mother, by Giovanni Giacometti. The work, which shows Giacometti’s wife Annetta with their youngest son, Bruno, in Stampa, was thought to be lost for many years.

Intense examination of a fragmented sticker on it, however, proved its authenticity. Its estimate was between SFr1.2 million and SFr1.8 million.

A week ago, a landscape depicting the Dents-du-Midi mountain range painted by Hodler in the resort of Champéry in canton Valais failed to reach its guide price of between SFr5 million and SFr7 million at another auction in Zurich.

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR