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Ruprecht Von Kaufmann
Jackson Pollock said that painting is closely related to the state of life. It is the discovery of self-consciousness and inner self. Every great painter paints his true self. (Pollock, 1940) Vilhelm Hammershoi's paintings are like himself, quiet, restrained, and low-key. Quietness, mystery are the biggest features of Vilhelm Hammershoi's works. This is exactly what I want to explore.
His paintings can take people into the quietest spaces in the world. (As shown in figure 1，2，3) At the same time, such a painter who depicts tranquility is also "quietly" rarely known in reality. One of the most important artists of Nordic Symbolism, Wilm Hammershaw is known for his poetic portraits and paintings of mysterious and silent apartments. In Hammershaw's decades of creation, his subject matter seems to have hardly changed, that is, the "love nest" where he and his wife live.
Figure 1, Vilhelm, Interior Strandgade,
1901
Oil on canvas
Figure 2, Vilhelm, Ida Reading a Letter,
1899
Oil on canvas
Figure 3， Vilhelm, Door, 1899
Oil on canvas
The multi-rhythmic colors of white, gray and black also continued to play an important role in Wilm Hammershaw's painting career. His works are so quiet that people seem to be able to instantly drop into them from various time and space. In the 20th century when various art schools were surging, Hammershaw's pursuit of art can be said to be out of place. The vague brushstrokes hidden in Hammershaw's paintings, as well as the air and light of black-gray and white-gray, bear witness to how his art was formed; Different flash.
Hammershay's ordinary life in this apartment with his wife Ida (As shown in figure 4，5) has shaped his art. He would even choose to paint a room from the same angle multiple times at different times of the day, even in different seasons, like Monet. There are even dozens of paintings in the same angle series, with completely different emotions and spatial feelings. His series of creations about his home and wife gave me some reflections on how I paint familiar things around me.
Figure 4, Vilhelm, Sewing,
Oil on canvas
Figure 5, Vilhelm, Rest, 1905
Oil on canvas
Reference
Hammershoi, V. (1901) Interior Strandgade [Oil on Canvas]. Available at: https://www.artrenewal.org/artworks/interior-strandgade-30/vilhelm-hammershoi/47406
Hammershoi, V. (1899) Ida Reading a Letter [Oil on Canvas]. Available at: https://www.artrenewal.org/artworks/ida-lser-et-brev/vilhelm-hammershoi/47411
Hammershoi, V. (1904) Sewing [Oil on Canvas]. Available at: https://www.artrenewal.org/artworks/ida-hammershoi-sewing/vilhelm-hammershoi/79380
Hammershoi, V. (1905) Rest [Oil on Canvas]. Available at: https://www.artrenewal.org/artworks/hvile-repos/vilhelm-hammershoi/47455
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