Artwork Title: Interior with Four Etchings

Interior with Four Etchings, 1905

Vilhelm Hammershøi

Interior With Four Etchings is a characteristically enigmatic and moody view of the painter’s wife, this time standing beside a desk. (http://www.macleans.ca/culture/the-enigmatic-masterpieces-of-vilhelm-hammershoi/) Painted in the Hammershøi apartment at Strandgade 30 in old Copenhagen, the work features some of the artist’s favourite motifs: a closed, square piano with chair, cherished antique Royal Copenhagen porcelain, four heavily framed, indistinct etchings and, most important of all, his wife Ida, who would model for him more than 70 times. (http://artmatters.ca/wp/2016/04/acquiring-a-masterpiece-the-agos-very-first-hammershoi-painting/?_ga=2.169600929.1843690265.1502910095-914136124.1502910095) Born in Copenhagen in 1864 and trained at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Hammershøi painted everyday scenes, lacking in detail and narrative, but rich in light and atmosphere. At odds with his contemporaries, his works on canvas and in charcoal include unpopulated landscapes and cityscapes, portraits and spare, sunlight-infused interiors for which he earned the title “de stille stuers maler” (the painter of tranquil rooms). Described by the National Gallery of Denmark’s Director Mikkel Bogh as a “painter of pauses, silences and in-between spaces,” Hammershøi’s reclusive personality and contemplative works made him a favorite among poets and writers. (https://nordonart.wordpress.com/2016/02/02/art-gallery-of-ontario-acquires-hammershoi-painting-opening-exhibition-in-april/)
Uploaded on Aug 16, 2017 by Suzan Hamer

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