Help us keep Artvee Alive
Artvee
  • Browse
    • Abstract
    • Figurative
    • Landscape
    • Religion
    • Mythology
    • Posters
    • Drawings
    • Illustration
    • Still Life
    • Animals
    • Botanical
    • Asian Art
  • Artists
  • Explore
    • Topics
    • Culture
    • Movements
  • Highlights
  • Collections
    • Collections
    • User Collections
  • Book Illustrations
Login
Artvee
Menu
Vilhelm Hammershøi - Self-Portrait seen from behind

Self-Portrait seen from behind (1898)

Vilhelm Hammershøi (Danish, 1864 - 1916)
Facebook Twitter Pinterest
Favourite
Collect

Standard, 2848 x 3730px JPG, Size: 11.05 MB

Download

Max Size, 4746 x 6216px JPG, Size: 25.02 MB

Download
License: All files can be freely used for personal and commercial projects with no attribution required
Why is this image in the public domain?
The Artist died in 1916 so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries where the copyright term is the Artist's life plus 70 years or fewer.
Vilhelm Hammershøi
About the Artist

Vilhelm Hammershøi, often written in English Vilhelm Hammershoi, was a Danish painter. He is known for his poetic, subdued portraits and interiors.

Vilhelm Hammershøi was born in 1864 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The son of a well-to-do merchant, Christian Hammershøi, and his wife, Frederikke (née Rentzmann), Hammershøi studied drawing from the age of eight with Niels Christian Kierkegaard and Holger Grønvold, as well as painting with Vilhelm Kyhn, before embarking on studies with Frederik Vermehren and others at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. From 1883 to 1885, he studied with Peder Severin Krøyer at the Independent Study Schools, then debuted in the Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition in 1885 with Portrait of a Young Girl (showing his sister, Anna). Pierre-Auguste Renoir is reported to have admired this painting. Hammershøi married Ida Ilsted in 1891.

Hammershøi worked mainly in his native city, painting portraits, architecture, and interiors. He also journeyed to the surrounding countryside and locations beyond, where he painted rolling hills, stands of trees, farm houses, and other landscapes. He is most celebrated for his interiors, many of which he painted in Copenhagen at Strandgade 30 (where he lived with his wife from 1898 to 1909, and Strandgade 25 (where they lived from 1913 to 1916). He travelled widely in Europe, finding London especially atmospheric in providing locations for his highly understated work, suffused as it was at the time with a foggy, coal smoke polluted atmosphere. His work in consequence has been described as "Monet meets the Camden School".

Hammershøi's wife figures in many of his interiors, often depicted from behind. Ida is also the model in many similar works by her brother, Peter Ilsted. Peter and Vilhelm were lifelong friends, business partners, and colleagues. The Metropolitan Museum of Art held an exhibition of their collective works in 2001, and there was an exhibition of his works in 2008 at the Royal Academy of London.

Hammershøi's paintings are best described as muted in tone. He refrained from employing bright colours (except in his very early academic works), opting always for a limited palette consisting of greys, as well as desaturated yellows, greens, and other dark hues. His tableaux of figures turned away from the viewer project an air of slight tension and mystery, while his exteriors of grand buildings in Copenhagen and in London (he painted two exteriors of the British Museum between 1905 and 1906) are devoid of people, a quality they share with his landscapes.

Hammershøi's early works, with their simplicity and recording of the "banality of everyday life", enjoyed critical acclaim. He was sought out by artists and literary figures of the time, among them Emil Nolde and Rainer Maria Rilke, who both remarked on his retiring manner and reluctance to talk. After a trip to Paris, his work became overly detailed. According to art critic Souren Melikian, his "painterly skill remained but the magic was lost."

Hammershøi's melancholic vision has now regained its place in the public consciousness. He is now one of the best-known artists in Scandinavia, and comprehensive retrospectives of his work have been organized by the Musée d'Orsay in Paris and the Guggenheim Museum in New York. In 2008, the Royal Academy of London hosted the first major exhibition in Britain of Hammershøi's work, Vilhelm Hammershøi: The Poetry of Silence. Hammershøi's only painting on constant display in Britain is 'Interior' in the National Gallery.

In 1997, Denmark issued a postage stamp in his honour.

More Artwork by Vilhelm Hammershøi (View all 82 Artworks)

Favourite Collect

St. Peter’s Church, Copenhagen (1906)

Vilhelm Hammershøi (Danish, 1864 - 1916)
Landscape
Favourite Collect

Interior With A Lady (1901)

Vilhelm Hammershøi (Danish, 1864 - 1916)
Figurative
Favourite Collect

Rest (1905)

Vilhelm Hammershøi (Danish, 1864 - 1916)
Figurative
Favourite Collect

Interior With A Mirror

Vilhelm Hammershøi (Danish, 1864 - 1916)
Still Life
Favourite Collect

Interior With Ida in A White Chair

Vilhelm Hammershøi (Danish, 1864 - 1916)
Figurative
Favourite Collect

Interior with a table, bookcase and Windsor Chair, 25 Strandgade (1913)

Vilhelm Hammershøi (Danish, 1864 - 1916)
Still Life
Favourite Collect

The Old Warehouse In Christianshavn

Vilhelm Hammershøi (Danish, 1864 - 1916)
Landscape
Favourite Collect

Amalienborg Square, Copenhagen (1896)

Vilhelm Hammershøi (Danish, 1864 - 1916)
Landscape
Favourite Collect

Stue (1897)

Vilhelm Hammershøi (Danish, 1864 - 1916)
Figurative
Favourite Collect

Interior. Artificial Light (1909)

Vilhelm Hammershøi (Danish, 1864 - 1916)
Still Life
Favourite Collect

Forstudie til ‘Solregn. Gentofte Sø’ (1902 – 1903)

Vilhelm Hammershøi (Danish, 1864 - 1916)
Landscape
Favourite Collect

Ida In An Interior

Vilhelm Hammershøi (Danish, 1864 - 1916)
Figurative
Load previous products
Load next products

Farm near Duivendrecht (c. 1916)

Piet Mondrian (Dutch, 1872 - 1944)
Facebook Twitter Pinterest
Favourite
Collect

Standard, JPG, Size:

Download

Max Size, JPG, Size:

Download
License: All files can be freely used for personal and commercial projects with no attribution required.
Why is this image in the public domain?
  • About Us
  • Terms
  • Privacy
  • Donate
  • Contact us

Artvee.com 2020 All Rights Reserved

We use cookies to improve your experience on our website. By browsing this website, you agree to our use of cookies.
More info Accept
  • Sign in
  • New account

Connect with:
Facebook Google Twitter

Forgot your password?

Connect with:
Facebook Google Twitter

Lost your password? Please enter your email address. You will receive mail with link to set new password.

Back to login

Add to Collection

  • Public collection title

  • Private collection title

No Collections yet

  • Sign in
  • Browse
    • Abstract
    • Figurative
    • Landscape
    • Religion
    • Mythology
    • Posters
    • Drawings
    • Illustration
    • Still Life
    • Animals
    • Botanical
    • Asian Art
  • Artists
  • Explore
    • Topics
    • Culture
    • Movements
  • Highlights
  • Collections
    • Collections
    • User Collections
  • Book Illustrations