Vilhelm Hammershöi (1864 - 1916)

Nationality

Denmark

Place of Birth

Köpenhamn, Danmark

Place of Death

Köpenhamn, Danmark

Biography

Vilhelm Hammershøi was born in Copenhagen in 1864. He was among the foremost artists in Denmark in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century with his art reaching further than that of any other Danish painter. The dominant theme of his art was loneliness, isolation, and alienation, alongside a sense of reflection and calmness. Although Hammershøi’s style and technique in the mid-1880s did not differ from that of his contemporaries, his psychological approach was ahead of his time. After his death in 1916, his work slowly fell into obscurity. Hammershøi’s calm style was in contrast to the experimental post-war avantgarde movement, and his enigmatic art was thought of as dull and out of date. In the late twentieth century, Hammershøi was rediscovered and today he is one of the most highly valued Nordic artists.