COPENHAGEN.- Vilhelm Hammershøi is Denmark’s most famous painter today, and his works are in great international demand. SMK - National Gallery of Denmark has just received three of the artist’s paintings in a distinguished donation from the estate of architect Henning Larsen. The paintings are now on public view at SMK, which holds the world’s largest collection of works by Hammershøi.

Henning Larsen, known in architectural circles as the ‘master of light’, was a great admirer of Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864–1916). Larsen was fascinated by the artist’s universe conjured up in shades of grey, by his remarkable ability to capture light and by his supreme command of compositions in which every line and form is carefully calibrated.

The late architect had a number of outstanding works by Hammershøi in his home, which his widow, Lone Backe, has bequeathed to SMK as a donation from her husband. In addition, SMK has received an important work by Vilhelm Lundstrøm (1893–1950).

Director of SMK, Astrid la Cour, says: ‘This is a truly exceptional gift, and one for which we are immensely happy and grateful. These are three important works, and it is of course exceedingly rare to receive paintings by Hammershøi, whose works are so highly sought after internationally. Moreover, these works are of additional significance for us because Henning Larsen and Lone Backe knew SMK’s Hammershøi collection intimately and understood that these particular paintings would add nuance to and enrich the collection in poignant ways.’

The donation comprises the following paintings:

Two Candles on a Table from c. 1901 – a motif Hammershøi used in several contexts, including in Interior. Artificial Light from 1909, which belongs to SMK,

Young Oaks from 1907, depicting an arrestingly beautiful landscape in which slender trunks and open tree crowns stand out against a luminous sky, and an interior from 1911, entitled Interior. Double Doors Open onto a Room Beyond with a Closed Piano. The living room depicted is at Bredgade 25, and it is the same room and the same double doors that appear in SMK’s painting Interior with the Artist’s Easel from 1910.

The world’s largest Hammershøi collection

Vilhelm Hammershøi is among the most important artists of the period around 1900 and is the best-known Danish painter internationally. Interest in his work has grown steadily over recent decades, with major retrospective exhibitions in Europe, North America and Japan, most recently at the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid.

SMK holds the world’s largest collection of works by Vilhelm Hammershøi and also conducts ongoing research into his oeuvre. The museum recently completed the major research project ‘ViHDA’, which has contributed entirely new knowledge about Hammershøi’s working methods, use of pigments and colour and choice of subject matter. The results have been made accessible to all: ViHDA

As part of the donation, SMK has also received Vilhelm Lundstrøm’s painting Still Life from 1937 – a large and colouristically compelling piece that constitutes a splendid addition to SMK’s extensive Lundstrøm collection. This work will undergo conservation before it can be shown to the public.