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Dimensions: 19 by 16 3/4 in.
48.5 by 42.5 cm.
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Provenance: PROPERTY FROM AN EAST COAST PRIVATE COLLECTION
Sale, Sotheby's New York, October 28, 1986, lot 133A, illustrated
Acquired by the present owner at the above sale
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Notes: By the turn of the century, Vilhelm Hammershøi had distilled the painting of women in empty rooms to its very essence, and the present work, Interior, shows to powerful effect Hammershøi's remarkable ability to capture a moment of complete stillness. Even though this woman (probably his wife, Ida) is in a physical act of folding linen, the quietude of her pose remains undisturbed.
The artist made over sixty of these jewel-like compositions in the ten years he spent living at Strandgade 30 in Copenhagen, finding nearly endless subject matter among those rooms and their spare decorations. The most important element in these rooms was the rarified light that played along the sharp angles found there. In each of these interior landscapes "light is the principal subject... and that light is the meager Danish winter light, the light of grey weather quite without color, warmth, or gaiety, albeit so rich in nuance...There is a light that pours in over the canvas and defines the [space]...The light is usually indirect for, of course, Hammershøi also knows that indirect light is often the most beautiful, and there is rarely much of it...It is light that can be extinguished at any time." (Hanne Finsen and Inge Vibeke Raaschou-Nielsen, Vilhelm Hammershøi, En Retrospektiv udstilling, Copenhagen, 1981, p.16)
The artist's use of light lends a glowing center to the scene, which might otherwise appear harsh and lonely in its restricted coloration. Instead, the silvery green-gray palette is warmed by the soft glow from a hidden window, illuminating the delicate cloth held in the woman's outstretched hands. Though her activity is half hidden, her remoteness is juxtaposed by the solid angles of table, chair and their shadows, and by the highly detailed and brightly erect candlestick at the composition's center.
Hammershøi relies upon geometric patterns as the framework for his dense, layered brushwork. Through this technique and through subject and palette, Interior conveys a sense of timelessness and evokes the wistful nature of introspective solitude. The yearning for intellectual and spiritual reflection was felt throughout European art and literature in the Symbolist movement, of which Hammershøi was hailed as an important figure. He, in turn, was influenced by certain members of the movement, especially by the "Symphonies" and "Arrangements" of James McNeil Whistler. Hammershøi's interpretation of symbolism was a unique one, which also incorporated lessons learned from Vermeer and other seventeen century Dutch masters. Ultimately, Hammershøi's brilliant use of spare interior landscapes and diffuse light in compositions like the present one made him an important contributor to the art historical dialogue at a time when cross currents in art were sweeping across Europe.
