Strandgade, Sunshine

c. 1906

Vilhelm Hammershøi

(Danish, 1864–1916)

Culture

Denmark

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

Unframed: 50.5 x 56.2 cm (19 7/8 x 22 1/8 in.)

Credit Line

Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley Collection Gift 2023.38

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Location

222 Impressionism & Post-Impressionism

Did You Know?

The poet Rainer Maria Rilke wrote, "Hammershøi is not one of those artists that one needs to talk about quickly. His work is long and slow and at whatever moment one comes to grips with it, one will have ample occasion to speak of what is significant and essential in art."

Description

One of Denmark’s most celebrated artists, Vilhelm Hammershøi was a painter of quiet spaces, mystery, and silence. Among his most memorable works are paintings of his apartment at 30 Strandgade in Copenhagen, here seen with the sun shining through a window, illuminating the floor and door to the right, while a woman stands in the shadows. The nearly empty room, muted tones, and closed door next to a window evoke a haunting mood filled with psychological complexity.