- 34
Vilhelm Hammershøi
Description
- Vilhelm Hammershøi
- Interior with a Mirror
- signed with initials lower right
- oil on canvas
- 72 by 58cm., 28¼ by 22¾in.
Provenance
Peter Olufsen & Kamma Ilsted (purchased at the above sale; Kamma was a daughter of painter Peder Ilsted, and the niece of Ida Hammershøi, née Ilsted)
Ingeborg Malene Olufsen (by descent from the above, her parents)
Private collection (acquired circa 1985; sale: Christie's, London, 29 March 1990, lot 78)
Purchased at the above sale by the parents of the present owner
Exhibited
Literature
Condition
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."
Catalogue Note
With its geometric spaces, tonal harmonies, and soft light, the overall effect is that of a symphony of line and light. Describing what inspired him most in the subjects that he drew on, Hammershøi commented: 'What makes me choose a motif, is in the first instance the lines, what I call the architectonic structure of the painting. And then the light, obviously. The light counts for a lot, but it is the lines that I like most. The colour is subordinated, I am not indifferent to the effects of colour, indeed I work hard at their harmonisation. But when I choose a motif, it seems to me that above all it is the lines that guide me' (quoted in L'univers poétique de Vilhelm Hammershøi, exh. cat. Ordrupgaard, Copenhagen & Paris, 1997, p. 28). And yet here the stark linearity is set into relief by the curved forms of the mirror, the drop leaf table, and the quarter roundels in the panelling adding another dimension to the composition.
The painting finds parallels both in the art of the past and in the work of Hammershøi’s contemporaries. Hammershøi's subtle use of light, muted tones and choice of subject are indebted to the Dutch seventeenth-century master Johannes Vermeer. Both artists favoured the setting of a simple room with an indirect light source. Hammershøi travelled to Holland in 1887 where he would have seen Vermeer's works first-hand. But the grey palette and sense of solitude also bear striking similarities to the works of contemporary artists Hammershøi admired, notably James McNeill Whistler. Hammershøi was deeply influenced by the American artist with whom he first exhibited at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1889. Both artists distilled the painting of empty rooms to its very essence, the limited tonal range further tempering any narrative. Hammershøi's influence, in turn, can be felt in the works of later artists, including Edward Hopper, Ida Lorentzen and Gerhard Richter.