In 1898, Vilhelm Hammershøi moved to Christianshavn – a district in Copenhagen distinctive for its maritime and industrial environment. The neighbourhood became very important to him, both personally and artistically: Hammershøi had found an apartment in Mikkel Vibes Gård at Strandgade 30, which would form the setting of his life until 1908. Here he painted some of the interior scenes for which he would later become so famous (
B 307) (
B 309) (
B 312). He also created several works in which the architecture of Christianshavn, a mixture of old, historic buildings and modern houses, played a central role.
After 1900, Hammershøi began to paint ships,
[1] and in 1905 he portrayed three ships moored along the Christianshavn Canal. At this point in time, the district was teeming with people, being home to major places of work such as the shipyard Burmeister and Wain, the harbour warehouses and the dock. According to Hammershøi, however, Christianshavn is a quiet, static and deserted world, one in which – as in his other paintings of architecture and urban settings – no people appear.
This painting exemplifies Hammershøi’s keen interest in lines – vertical, horizontal as well as diagonal, distinctive as well as understated – that intertwine to form geometric patterns. Several have pointed out that
Three Ships. Christianshavn Canal has a close kinship with the idiom of photography, and it’s very likely that Hammershøi has used a photographic reference; however, no such photo has been discovered as yet.
[2]Lent to the exhibition
Hammershøi. The Eye that Listens
Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Spain17 February - 31 May 2026
Inv. no. B 310
Published in:
Sophus Michaëlis and Alfred Bramsen: Vilhelm Hammershøi. Kunstneren og hans Værk, Copenhagen 1918, p. 105, cat. 281;
Alfred Bramsen: Udvalg af Vilh. Hammershøis arbejder, Copenhagen 1930, pp. 7, 9, cat. 26;
Erik Zahle: “Billedkunst,” in C.L. Davids Samling. Vol. 1, Nogle Studier, Copenhagen 1948, p. 207;
C.L. David: C.L. Davids Samling, Copenhagen 1960, p. 28;
Knud Voss and Verner Aspenström: Vilhelm Hammershøi, Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde, Stockholm 1976, pp. 16-17, cat. 24;
Hanne Finsen and Inge Vibeke Raaschou-Nielsen: Vilhelm Hammershøi. En retrospektiv udstilling, Ordrupgaard, Charlottenlund 1981, p. 129, cat. 109;
Hanne Finsen and Inge Vibeke Raaschou-Nielsen: Vilhelm Hammershøi. Painter of Stillness and Light, Wildenstein, New York og Phillips Collection, Washington, Copenhagen 1983, p. 79, cat. 67;
Poul Vad: “Vilhelm Hammershøi,” in Kjeld von Folsach and Nana Lund (ed.): Dansk kunst i Davids Samling. Fra Philipsen til Saxbo, Copenhagen 1995, pp. 102-103, cat. 36;
Henrik Wivel: Vilhelm Hammershøi. Dansk klassikerkunst, Copenhagen 1996, fig. 24, pp. 51, 53;
Felix Krämer, Ulrich Luckhardt and Barbara Ludwig: Vilhelm Hammershøi, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg 2003, pp. 65, 154, cat. 38;
Bente Scavenius and Jens Lindhe: Hammershøis København, Kunstforeningen Gl. Strand, Copenhagen 2003, pp. 79-80;
Poul Vad: Hammershøi. Værk og liv, 5th ed., Copenhagen 2003, p. 414;
Tone Sinding Steinsvik, Ida Lorentzen and Bente Scavenius: Den forunderlige stillheten. Ida Lorentzen (f.1951), Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864-1916), Stiftelsen Modums Blaafarveværk, Modum 2005, pp. 88, 100, cat. 55;
Annette Rosenvold Hvidt (ed.): Hammershøi, Dreyer. Billedmagi, Ordrupgaard, Charlottenlund 2006, pp. 22, 111, cat. 27;
Felix Krämer, Naoki Sato and Anne-Birgitte Fonsmark: Hammershøi, Royal Academy of Arts, London 2008, pp. 113, 152, cat. 43;
Henrik Wivel: Hammershøi in The David Collection, Copenhagen 2017, pp. 76-77;
Annette Rosenvold Hvidt and Gertrud Oelsner: Vilhelm Hammershøi. På sporet af det åbne billede, Copenhagen 2018, pp. 238-239;
Henrik Wivel: Vilhelm Hammershøi. maleri som poesi, Copenhagen 2026, fig. 104, pp. 240-243;
