Vilhelm Hammershøi

Ida Mathilde Koch (by 1918)
Svend Koch (inherited from the above, his sister)
By descent to the present owner, great grandson of the above

 

Alfred Bramsen & Sophus Michaëlis, Vilhelm Hammershøi. Kunstneren og hans værk, Copenhagen & Christiania, 1918, no. 210, catalogued (as Landskab. Refsnæs Sommer, 1900)

The following condition report has been prepared by Hamish Dewar Ltd., 13 and 14 Mason's Yard, St James', London, SW1Y 6BU: UNCONDITIONAL AND WITHOUT PREJUDICE Structural Condition The canvas is unlined and is securely attached to what certainly appears to be the artist's original keyed wooden stretcher. This is ensuring an even and stable structural support. Paint Surface The paint surface has a relatively even and sympathetic varnish layer. The painting has an overall pattern of very fine lines of craquelure, most notably within the sky. This appears stable. There is a slightly raised stretcher-bar line corresponding to the lower horizontal stretcher member. This also appears stable. Inspection under ultra-violet light shows small scattered spots and lines of retouching throughout the hills and within the foreground which appear to be covering paint shrinkage. There are also scattered tiny spots of retouching throughout the sky and some further earlier retouchings at the extreme edges of the composition. It should be noted that these retouchings are all of minimal size and have been very carefully applied. Summary The painting would therefore appear to be in good and stable 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."

Painted in 1900 and pared down almost to abstraction, From Refsnæs bears witness to Hammershøi's on-going - and lesser known - fascination for landscape painting. By now installed at Strandgade 30, the Copenhagen apartment that was the subject of his most famous interiors, Hammershøi nevertheless took time to engage with the great outdoors. The subject of the present work is the peninsula of Refsnæs (or Røsnæs), part of the remote north western promontory of Zealand which was within easy reach of the capital. The strata of sky, dune, and prairie border on the abstract, putting Hammershøi ahead of his time. As in his interiors, Hammershøi creates a hermetically sealed world, denying the viewer almost every frame of reference to the wider world beyond a tantalising glimpse of the sea on the far left.

The present work relates to a version of the same subject in the Thielska Galleriet, Stockholm, measuring 58 by 71cm (fig. 1).