In the period 1909 to 1910, Vilhelm Hammershøi created two monumental nudes, one being
Standing Female Nude[1], the other
Nude Female Model. These are some of the few occasions on which he has painted a life-sized, free-standing, naked female figure, placing her in a space with a very different feel than the private living rooms at Strandgade 30. Even though several factors are believed to have influenced genesis of the works,
[2] it is difficult to provide a definitive, all-encompassing explanation for the two nudes’ subject matter, overall feel and the fact that the artist kept both until his death.
It is particularly noteworthy that
Nude Female Model is very carefully finished. Hammershøi has used his distinctive greyscale palette, and the many small brushstrokes create a richly varied surface that makes the painting, especially the background, pulsate with life.
The female body is not depicted in the sensuous way found in Hammershøi’s early nudes.
[3] Quite the contrary. Hammershøi has created an oddly dispassionate, closely observing, sober depiction of a female body that is brightly illuminated and pulled to the front of the picture plane. It is not the nudity as such, but rather the frontality, the life-size format and the far from gentle representation of the body that makes the work seem intimidating in its severe objectivity.
Hammershøi died at the age of 51 in 1916. In October that same year, an auction of his estate was held, including twenty-five paintings. Here, C.L. David acquired
Nude Female Model, which was the first work by Hammershøi added to David’s collection of Danish Early Modern Art, which now numbers fourteen works by the artist.
Inv. no. B 319
Published in:
Fortegnelse over arbejder af Vilhelm Hammershøi, [2], Kunstforeningen April-Maj 1916, København 1916, cat. 94, p. 9;
Sophus Michaëlis and Alfred Bramsen: Vilhelm Hammershøi. Kunstneren og hans værk, København 1918, cat. 330, pp. 68, 72, 109;
Erik Zahle: ”Billedkunst” in C.L. Davids Samling. Nogle Studier, [1], København 1948, pp. 207, 255-256;
C.L. David: C.L. Davids Samling, København 1960, p. 27 (mentioned);
Poul Vad in Kjeld von Folsach and Nana Lund (eds.): Dansk kunst i Davids Samling – fra Philipsen til Saxbo, København 1995, cat. 39, pp. 108-109;
Henrik Wivel: Vilhelm Hammershøi: dansk klassikerkunst, København 1996, fig. 29, pp. 24-25, 56, 59;
Anne-Birgitte Fonsmark et al.: Vilhelm Hammershøi, 1864-1916. Danish painter of solitude and light, Ordrupgaard, Charlottenlund, Musée d’Orsay, Paris, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York 1998, cat. 65, p. 133;
Kirk Varnedoe: Northern light. Realism and symbolism in Scandinavian painting, 1980-1910, Brooklyn Museum, New York 1982, p. 136;
Poul Vad: Hammershøi. Værk og liv, København 2003, 5. ed., pp. 338-347;
Sabine Schulze (ed.): Nackt! Frauenansichten. Malerabsichten. Aufbruch zur Moderne, Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt am Main, Ostfildern 2003, cat.no. 43, pp. 184-185;
Henrik Wivel: Hammershøi i Davids Samling, København 2017, pp. 82-83;
Annette Rosenvold Hvidt and Gertrud Oelsner: Vilhelm Hammershøi. På sporet af det åbne billede, København 2018, pp. 402-403;
Jean-Loup Champion and Pierre Curie (eds.): Hammershøi. Le maître de la peinture danoise, Musée Jacquemart-André, Paris, Bruxelles 2019, cat. 30, pp. 128, 133;
Annette Rosenvold Hvidt and Gertrud Oelsner (eds.): Fremkaldelser. Vilhelm Hammershøi, Valdemar Schønheyder Møller og fotografiet, Den Hirschsprungske Samling, København 2021, pp. 109, 120-121;
