Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864–1916)
Nude Female Model, 1910
Oil on canvas
172 x 96.5 cm
Inventory number B 319
In the period 1909 to 1910, Vilhelm Hammershøi created two monumental nudes, one being Standing Female Nude1, the other Nude Female Model. These are some of the few occasions on which he has painted a life-sized, free-standing, naked female figure, placing her in a space with a very different feel than the private living rooms at Strandgade 30. Even though several factors are believed to have influenced genesis of the works,2 it is difficult to provide a definitive, all-encompassing explanation for the two nudes’ subject matter, overall feel and the fact that the artist kept both until his death.
It is particularly noteworthy that Nude Female Model is very carefully finished. Hammershøi has used his distinctive greyscale palette, and the many small brushstrokes create a richly varied surface that makes the painting, especially the background, pulsate with life.
The female body is not depicted in the sensuous way found in Hammershøi’s early nudes.3 Quite the contrary. Hammershøi has created an oddly dispassionate, closely observing, sober depiction of a female body that is brightly illuminated and pulled to the front of the picture plane. It is not the nudity as such, but rather the frontality, the life-size format and the far from gentle representation of the body that makes the work seem intimidating in its severe objectivity.
Hammershøi died at the age of 51 in 1916. In October that same year, an auction of his estate was held, including twenty-five paintings. Here, C.L. David acquired Nude Female Model, which was the first work by Hammershøi added to David’s collection of Danish Early Modern Art, which now numbers fourteen works by the artist.
It is particularly noteworthy that Nude Female Model is very carefully finished. Hammershøi has used his distinctive greyscale palette, and the many small brushstrokes create a richly varied surface that makes the painting, especially the background, pulsate with life.
The female body is not depicted in the sensuous way found in Hammershøi’s early nudes.3 Quite the contrary. Hammershøi has created an oddly dispassionate, closely observing, sober depiction of a female body that is brightly illuminated and pulled to the front of the picture plane. It is not the nudity as such, but rather the frontality, the life-size format and the far from gentle representation of the body that makes the work seem intimidating in its severe objectivity.
Hammershøi died at the age of 51 in 1916. In October that same year, an auction of his estate was held, including twenty-five paintings. Here, C.L. David acquired Nude Female Model, which was the first work by Hammershøi added to David’s collection of Danish Early Modern Art, which now numbers fourteen works by the artist.
Published in
Published in
Fortegnelse over arbejder af Vilhelm Hammershøi, booklet 2, Kunstforeningen, Copenhagen 1916, p. 9, cat. 94;
Sophus Michaëlis and Alfred Bramsen: Vilhelm Hammershøi. Kunstneren og hans Værk, Copenhagen 1918, pp. 68, 72, 109, cat. 330;
Erik Zahle: “Billedkunst,” in C.L. Davids Samling. Vol. 1, Nogle Studier, Copenhagen 1948, pp. 207, 255-256;
C.L. David: C.L. Davids Samling, Copenhagen 1960, p. 27;
Poul Vad: “Vilhelm Hammershøi,” in Kjeld von Folsach and Nana Lund (ed.): Dansk kunst i Davids Samling. Fra Philipsen til Saxbo, Copenhagen 1995, pp. 108-109, cat. 39;
Henrik Wivel: Vilhelm Hammershøi. Dansk klassikerkunst, Copenhagen 1996, fig. 29, pp. 24-25, 56, 59;
Anne-Birgitte Fonsmark et al.: Vilhelm Hammershøi, 1864-1916. Danish Painter of Solitude and Light, Ordrupgaard, Musée d’Orsay, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York 1998, p. 133, cat. 65;
Kirk Varnedoe: Northern light. Realism and Symbolism in Scandinavian Painting, 1980-1910, Brooklyn Museum, New York 1982, p. 136;
Poul Vad: Hammershøi. Værk og liv, 5. ed., Copenhagen 2003, pp. 338-347;
Sabine Schulze (ed.): Nackt. Frauenansichten, Malerabsichten, Aufbruch zur Moderne, Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt am Main, Ostfildern 2003, pp. 184-185, cat. 43;
Sophus Michaëlis and Alfred Bramsen: Vilhelm Hammershøi. Kunstneren og hans Værk, Copenhagen 1918, pp. 68, 72, 109, cat. 330;
Erik Zahle: “Billedkunst,” in C.L. Davids Samling. Vol. 1, Nogle Studier, Copenhagen 1948, pp. 207, 255-256;
C.L. David: C.L. Davids Samling, Copenhagen 1960, p. 27;
Poul Vad: “Vilhelm Hammershøi,” in Kjeld von Folsach and Nana Lund (ed.): Dansk kunst i Davids Samling. Fra Philipsen til Saxbo, Copenhagen 1995, pp. 108-109, cat. 39;
Henrik Wivel: Vilhelm Hammershøi. Dansk klassikerkunst, Copenhagen 1996, fig. 29, pp. 24-25, 56, 59;
Anne-Birgitte Fonsmark et al.: Vilhelm Hammershøi, 1864-1916. Danish Painter of Solitude and Light, Ordrupgaard, Musée d’Orsay, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York 1998, p. 133, cat. 65;
Kirk Varnedoe: Northern light. Realism and Symbolism in Scandinavian Painting, 1980-1910, Brooklyn Museum, New York 1982, p. 136;
Poul Vad: Hammershøi. Værk og liv, 5. ed., Copenhagen 2003, pp. 338-347;
Sabine Schulze (ed.): Nackt. Frauenansichten, Malerabsichten, Aufbruch zur Moderne, Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt am Main, Ostfildern 2003, pp. 184-185, cat. 43;
Henrik Wivel: Hammershøi in The David Collection, Copenhagen 2017, pp. 82-83;
Annette Rosenvold Hvidt and Gertrud Oelsner: Vilhelm Hammershøi. På sporet af det åbne billede, Copenhagen 2018, pp. 402-403;
Jean-Loup Champion and Pierre Curie (ed.): Hammershøi. Le maître de la peinture danoise, Musée Jacquemart-André, Paris, Bruxelles 2019, pp. 128, 133, cat. 30;
Annette Rosenvold Hvidt and Gertrud Oelsner (ed.): Fremkaldelser. Vilhelm Hammershøi, Valdemar Schønheyder Møller og fotografiet, Den Hirschsprungske Samling, Copenhagen 2021, pp. 109, 120-121;
Henrik Wivel: Vilhelm Hammershøi. Maleri som poesi, Copenhagen 2026, fig. 82, pp. 187-190;
Annette Rosenvold Hvidt and Gertrud Oelsner: Vilhelm Hammershøi. På sporet af det åbne billede, Copenhagen 2018, pp. 402-403;
Jean-Loup Champion and Pierre Curie (ed.): Hammershøi. Le maître de la peinture danoise, Musée Jacquemart-André, Paris, Bruxelles 2019, pp. 128, 133, cat. 30;
Annette Rosenvold Hvidt and Gertrud Oelsner (ed.): Fremkaldelser. Vilhelm Hammershøi, Valdemar Schønheyder Møller og fotografiet, Den Hirschsprungske Samling, Copenhagen 2021, pp. 109, 120-121;
Henrik Wivel: Vilhelm Hammershøi. Maleri som poesi, Copenhagen 2026, fig. 82, pp. 187-190;
Footnotes
Footnotes
1.
For example Vilhelm Hammershøi, Nude Female Model, 1883, SMK, inv.no. KMS8612 and Vilhelm Hammershøi, Seated Female Nude, 1889, SMK, inv.no. KMS3766.
2.
See Poul Vad: Hammershøi. Værk og liv, Copenhagen 2003, 5th ed., pp. 338–347.
3.
Vilhelm Hammershøi, Standing Female Nude, 1909-10, SMK, inv.no. KMS3359.
