Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864–1916) was one of the most significant Danish painters of his day. The poet Rainer Maria Rilke 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 are decidedly quiet – hence the subtitle of this exhibition at the Kunsthaus Zürich, which has travelled from the Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid: we are invited to listen as much as look (3 July–25 October). The subtitle also alludes to Hammershøi’s interest in music. His empty interiors are joined here by paintings of musicians: a woman plays the piano, a man plays the cello, yet somehow they add to the sense of eerieness that is the artist’s hallmark.
Find out more from Kunsthaus Zürich’s website.
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