Night
1889–1890 · Oil on canvas · Kunstmuseum Bern
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About this work
- Artist
- Ferdinand Hodler (1853–1918)
- Year
- 1889–1890
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 116.5 × 299 cm
- Collection
- Kunstmuseum Bern
- Movement
- Symbolism
Sleepers lie across a long, frieze-like canvas on dark cloths, some naked and some partly draped, while in the centre a man jolts awake, eyes wide, as a figure shrouded in black crouches over his body; the ground is pale and a strip of deep blue sky runs along the top. Hodler completed it in 1890, and it marked his turn to Symbolism; he meant the shrouded figure as death. Geneva's mayor judged it obscene and it was withdrawn from an exhibition there in 1891, but at the Paris Salon a few months later it was championed by Puvis de Chavannes and Rodin.
This exhibition-poster edition shows the whole work beneath original typography set in-house. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
Black drapery, pale bodies and a deep blue band of sky make a dramatic, adult picture for a study, library or bedroom. Pair it with Fuseli's The Nightmare at 24×36 in a black frame.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Exhibition poster of a Symbolism painting
- Era
- 19th century (1889–1890)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Palette
- cream & beige
- Mood
- intimate
- Rooms
- bedroom, study or library, living room, dining room, hallway or entryway
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 24×36. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.
Framing. Exhibition posters sit best in a slim black frame with no mat — the typeset margin is the mat.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is Night in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Night painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
A fine-art print
The same artwork as a clean fine-art print — the image shown large with a minimal caption.
