Svend Hammershøi

Svend Hammershøi (1873-1948) was a painter and ceramist. He holds a special place in the history of Danish art. Very well known in his time like his brother Vilhelm, he exhibited much less than the latter. As a result, he is less well known today.

Svend Hammershøi spends several months each year in England. The British buildings, climate and atmosphere correspond to his state of mind. At the age of 11, he had a dream: on a foggy day, he was walking down a narrow street. In the dense fog, the silhouette of a bell tower with a pointed spire appeared to him. But there are no such spires in Denmark. He then thinks that he had another life in England, perhaps during the 13th or 14th century. During his whole life, he will search for this childhood dream, this bell tower, which he will not find. England will remain the country of his imagination and will bring him inspiration. The English countryside near Oxford inspired more than a hundred paintings.

 His paintings are imbued with a soft, poetic and mysterious atmosphere. His depictions of Danish castles surrounded by trees are characterized by a warm and enveloping color of gray-brown and golden tones. His shaded color ranges reach a rare refinement.

Svend Hammershøi is gifted with a melancholic nature. He lives with his mother and older sister, Anna, in Frederiksberg, near Copenhagen. He has a strong relationship with Vilhelm and his sister-in-law Ida throughout his life. Trees are his main motifs: tall, old trees with delicate, winter-stripped branches in the English countryside and especially in the vicinity of Copenhagen. Both in his landscapes and in the depictions of the country's ancient buildings and monuments, the bare trees dominate against a golden, slightly hazy sky. There is an almost living interaction between the buildings and the trees.