Vilhelm Hammershøi

Estate of the artist (sale: Copenhagen, 1916, lot 8)
J. Chr. T. Levinsen (purchased at the above sale)
Sale: Bruun Rasmussen, Copenhagen, 18 November 2008, lot 64
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner              

Alfred Bramsen & Sophus Michaëlis, Vilhelm Hammershøi. Kunstneren og hans værk, Copenhagen & Christiania, 1918, p. 112, no. 364 

The canvas has not been lined and is securely attached to its keyed wooden stretcher. Ultra-violet light reveals no visible sign of retouching. This work is in very good original condition and is ready to hang. Presented in a dark wooden Dutch frame. Colours are less red in reality. Colours are overall more grey and colder.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Painted in 1913.

After living for eleven years at Strandgade 30, Vilhelm and Ida Hammershøi were evicted from their apartment when the owner sold the dilapidated building in 1909. Following two interim moves, they found a suitable home in November 1912, again in Strandgade, but this time on the first floor of the building formerly occupied by the Asiatic Company. The apartment had much in common with their former home just across the street. Ida wrote to her mother-in-law: 'Now I must tell you that Vilhelm has taken the apartment in the Asiatic Company. He has signed the lease and sent it off. And he is immensely happy about it. It is expensive, but he thinks that it will be profitable anyway for him to live in a place where he can paint, and it is a good apartment' (letter of 30 November 1912, quoted in Poul Vad, Vilhelm Hammershøi, 1988, p. 332).

With a similar enfilade of interconnecting rooms, and decorated in neutral greys and whites, the new premises provided the backdrop for a series of evocative interiors, with and without Ida (fig. 1). Painted in 1913, the present work is devoid of all props, the solitary white doors denoting both absence and presence: for although unoccupied, as the only object to punctuate the silent space they assume an almost anthropomorphic quality. Despite his comparatively free brushstroke, Hammershøi’s attention to the play of light and shadow, and the reflection of light off surfaces, is as subtle and masterful as ever.