Ernst Hodel: Das Werk eines Malers, by F. Balsiger, R. von Tavel, G. Staffelbach, A. J. Welti and J. B. Rusch. 98 pages, 95 illustrations (26 in full color). Lucerne: Verlag J. Nietlispach, 1951.

This book celebrates the 70th birthday of one of the greatest living Swiss mountain painters. Hodel’s studio and diorama, directly across from Lucerne’s lion, are remembered by many visitors. He is a modernist, though less so than Hodler, his late contemporary. Hodel is a master of animal painting—goats, sheep and cows being among his favorite subjects—but he also brings high-key colors to play upon the lake, the Rigi and the views from heights adjacent to Lucerne. There is nothing harsh or crude in his palette: all his work is a delight to the eye and a pleasure to live with—a good justification for art, and one which is corroborated by this worthy book.

J.M.T.