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Portrait of a girl (Anna, artist's sister)
Vilhelm Hammershøi • Painting, 1885, 112×91.5 cm
Description of the artwork «Portrait of a girl (Anna, artist's sister)»
Picture "Portrait of a girl " Wilhelm Hammershoy wrote in 1885, at the age of 21. The debutant had an ambitious goal - to receive at the Spring Salon the prize of Neuhausen, the award of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. The 19-year-old sister of the artist Anna, who he chose because, as explained later, “I wanted to write someone I knew well”.
There is an assumption that the young Hammershoi was guided by "Portrait of the artist's sister" Julius Exner, who at that time was a major figure in Danish art. Forty years earlier, this debut film brought the first prize to the future matra and became the key to its success. So it is not surprising that the young follower decided to take her as a model.
Anna, fully dressed in black, is depicted against a white panel. Like the heroine Exner, she sits in a calm pose, turning three-quarters and not looking at the viewer. Her pale red lips are the only exception in the laconic palette. Hammershöy himself explained: “Probably, these colors can be called neutral and muted. I am absolutely sure that the smaller the colors in the picture, the better it is in terms of color. ”.
Unlike Exner, Hammershöy did not receive the prize. Apparently, the conservative jury did not like the muted palette and free strokes, as well as the lack of narration and the Spartan atmosphere. Even art critic Carl Madsen, who was just beginning his career at the time, called this picture "The strangest on this year's show"... But that did not stop the critic from becoming one of forty people who signed a petition demanding the award of the Hammershoy Prize. Boy teacher Peder Severin Krøyer Madden wrote a letter in which he called academicians "Idiots, blockheads and blind fanatics". He called the art critic “Write something against them with firmness and strength. Spit in them. They deserve it. ”.
It is curious that Wilhelm Hammershoy, while studying with Kreuer at the Independent School, remained indifferent to the bright colors and life-scenes of his teacher. The mentor spoke about his student: "I do not understand him. It seems to me that he will become a major artist, so I try not to influence him. ”. But a letter to Madsen clearly shows that progressive artists felt towards the establishment. Subsequently, this "Portrait of a Girl" was admired by one of the founders of impressionism. Pierre Auguste Renoir.
In 1890, the jury of the Salon refused to accept the canvas "Bedroom. Interior with a woman at the window " - the next picture of Hammershöy, for which his sister posed. The artist became one of the co-founders of the non-controlled academicians of the Independent Exhibition, which was held next year. That same year, he married Ida Ulsted, who replaced him with Anna as a model.
Author: Vlad Maslov
There is an assumption that the young Hammershoi was guided by "Portrait of the artist's sister" Julius Exner, who at that time was a major figure in Danish art. Forty years earlier, this debut film brought the first prize to the future matra and became the key to its success. So it is not surprising that the young follower decided to take her as a model.
Anna, fully dressed in black, is depicted against a white panel. Like the heroine Exner, she sits in a calm pose, turning three-quarters and not looking at the viewer. Her pale red lips are the only exception in the laconic palette. Hammershöy himself explained: “Probably, these colors can be called neutral and muted. I am absolutely sure that the smaller the colors in the picture, the better it is in terms of color. ”.
Unlike Exner, Hammershöy did not receive the prize. Apparently, the conservative jury did not like the muted palette and free strokes, as well as the lack of narration and the Spartan atmosphere. Even art critic Carl Madsen, who was just beginning his career at the time, called this picture "The strangest on this year's show"... But that did not stop the critic from becoming one of forty people who signed a petition demanding the award of the Hammershoy Prize. Boy teacher Peder Severin Krøyer Madden wrote a letter in which he called academicians "Idiots, blockheads and blind fanatics". He called the art critic “Write something against them with firmness and strength. Spit in them. They deserve it. ”.
It is curious that Wilhelm Hammershoy, while studying with Kreuer at the Independent School, remained indifferent to the bright colors and life-scenes of his teacher. The mentor spoke about his student: "I do not understand him. It seems to me that he will become a major artist, so I try not to influence him. ”. But a letter to Madsen clearly shows that progressive artists felt towards the establishment. Subsequently, this "Portrait of a Girl" was admired by one of the founders of impressionism. Pierre Auguste Renoir.
In 1890, the jury of the Salon refused to accept the canvas "Bedroom. Interior with a woman at the window " - the next picture of Hammershöy, for which his sister posed. The artist became one of the co-founders of the non-controlled academicians of the Independent Exhibition, which was held next year. That same year, he married Ida Ulsted, who replaced him with Anna as a model.
Author: Vlad Maslov
