In less than half a century Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864–1916) painted or drew some 400 works and earned a reputation as one of the most significant Danish painters of his day. The poet Rainer Maria Rilke once said of his work, ‘at whatever moment one comprehends it, it will always provide an opportunity to talk about what is important and essential in art’ – an apt response to the clarity and simplicity of Hammershøi’s paintings, the best-known of which are studies of domestic interiors dominated by greys, off-whites and muted blues. Even when there are people in the frame, the paintings seem decidedly quiet – hence the subtitle of this exhibition at the Thyssen-Bornemisza: we are invited to listen as much as look (17 February–31 May). The subtitle also alludes to Hammershøi’s interest in music; his eerily empty interiors are joined here by paintings of musicians: a woman playing piano, a man playing the cello, yet somehow adding to the uneasy sense of quiet that was the artist’s hallmark.
Find out more from the Thyssen-Bornemisza’s website.
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