“Hammershøi. The Eye that Listens” at Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza

Vilhelm Hammershøi’s rendering of light, space and line is often celebrated in his interior scenes, where geometric architecture and soft illumination heighten their enigmatic, introspective mood. These works go on view at the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza in Spain’s first major retrospective devoted to the Danish artist, who was critically admired during his lifetime by figures such as Rainer Maria Rilke and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, before falling into relative obscurity following his death in 1916. Alongside his quiet interiors, the exhibition presents his landscapes, architectural scenes and portraits, plus works by past masters and contemporaries from the museum’s permanent collection. Themes include Hammershøi’s lifelong interest in music — reflected in the exhibition’s subtitle “The Eye that Listens” — and the role his wife, Ida, often depicted from behind in his paintings, played in his creative process.

^{Vilhelm Hammershøi, “A Room in the Artist’s Home in Strandgade, Copenhagen, with the Artist’s Wife,” 1902. National Gallery of Denmark, Copenhague. Statens Museum for Kunst}