Five Portraits

Vilhelm Hammershøi prints bring the hush of a sunlit empty room, a half-open door or a woman seen from behind into your home. Hammershøi was a Danish painter of poetic, subdued interiors, portraits and townscapes, painted in a narrow palette of greys and soft whites. Our collection of fine art prints covers his famous Strandgade interiors, portraits, Copenhagen buildings and quiet Danish landscapes.

About Vilhelm Hammershøi

Vilhelm Hammershøi was born in Copenhagen on 15 May 1864, the son of a merchant. From the age of eight he studied drawing and painting with several teachers, then attended the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, and from 1883 to 1885 studied with P. S. Krøyer at the Independent Study Schools. He made his debut in 1885 with a portrait of his sister Anna, which Renoir is said to have admired. His brother Svend became a ceramist and painter.

In 1891 he married Ida Ilsted, sister of the painter Peter Ilsted. Ida became his main model, usually shown from behind in their apartments at Strandgade 30, where they lived from 1898 to 1909, and later Strandgade 25. He travelled widely in Europe and found London especially inspiring, its foggy air suiting his understated art.

Hammershøi worked mostly in Copenhagen, painting interiors, portraits, buildings and landscapes. The poet Rainer Maria Rilke wrote in 1905 that his work was "wide-ranging and slow". He died in Copenhagen on 13 February 1916. In 2012 his Ida Reading a Letter set a record price for any Danish work of art.

Style and Subjects

Hammershøi's palette is famously restrained: greys, soft whites, muted yellows and greens. His interiors show almost empty rooms, closed or half-open white doors, bare floorboards and windows letting in pale light. When figures appear, they are often a woman in black seen from behind, absorbed in something the viewer cannot share.

The mood is calm, still and slightly mysterious. His views of Copenhagen and London buildings and his Danish landscapes have the same quiet atmosphere of silence.

Famous Works

• Amalienborg Square, Copenhagen (1896), Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen. The royal square, empty and silent in grey light.
• Ida Reading a Letter (1899). A quiet reading scene that set a record for Danish art in 2012.
• Dust Motes Dancing in the Sunbeams (1900), Ordrupgaard, Copenhagen. An empty room with sunlight streaming through the window.
• Interior in Strandgade, Sunlight on the Floor (1901), Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen. Ida in a quiet room with patterns of sunlight on the floor.
• Five Portraits (1901), Thiel Gallery, Stockholm. His friends seated around a table in dim light.
• Rest (1905), Musée d'Orsay, Paris. Ida from behind, her neck bowed, one of his best-loved images.
• Interior. The Music Room, Strandgade 30 (1907). A spare room with a piano in pale grey light.
• Interior with an Easel, Bredgade 25 (1912), J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. His studio with an easel turned away from us.

Decorating with Hammershøi Prints

Hammershøi's interiors are ideal for calm, minimal homes. Their soft greys and whites suit Scandinavian, Japandi and modern interiors, and a single interior like Rest or Interior, Strandgade 30 brings quiet to a bedroom, study or hallway.

His Copenhagen buildings and landscapes, such as The Old Warehouse in Christianshavn, make a restful group for a living room or reading corner.

FAQ

Who was Vilhelm Hammershøi?

Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864–1916) was a Danish painter known for poetic, subdued interiors, portraits and townscapes painted in soft greys.

Who is the woman in Hammershøi's paintings?

She is usually his wife Ida Ilsted, whom he married in 1891. He often painted her from behind in their Copenhagen apartments.

What makes Hammershøi's style recognisable?

His limited palette of greys and muted colours, near-empty rooms, closed white doors, soft window light and figures turned away from the viewer.

Where can I see Hammershøi's paintings?

The Statens Museum for Kunst and Ordrupgaard in Copenhagen hold major works. Others are in the Musée d'Orsay, the Thiel Gallery in Stockholm and the Getty Museum.

Related Artists

• Peter Ilsted: his brother-in-law, who also painted Ida in quiet interiors
• Carl Holsøe: Danish painter of similar calm interiors
• Peder Severin Krøyer: his teacher at the Independent Study Schools
• Johannes Vermeer: Dutch master of quiet, light-filled interiors
• James Abbott McNeill Whistler: painter of subtle grey harmonies of the same era