The Poetry of Silence. The retrospective features over 60 paintings spanning the career of this celebrated Danish artist. His most compelling works are quiet, haunting interiors, their emptiness disturbed only occasionally by the presence of a solitary, graceful figure, often the Hammershoi's wife. Painted within a small tonal range of implied greys, these sparsely-furnished rooms exude an almost hypnotic quietude and sense of melancholic introspection.
The first Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864-1916) retrospective in the UK, this exhibition features over 60 paintings spanning the career of this celebrated Danish artist. The works have been selected from museums and private collections in Europe, the United States and Japan.
Hammershøi's most compelling works are his quiet, haunting interiors, their emptiness disturbed only occasionally by the presence of a solitary, graceful figure, often the artist's wife. Painted within a small tonal range of implied greys, these sparsely-furnished rooms exude an almost hypnotic quietude and sense of melancholic introspection.
In addition to the interiors, the exhibition also includes Hammershøi’s arresting portraits, landscapes and his evocative city views, notably the deserted streets of London on a misty winter morning. The magical quietness of Hammershøi’s work can be seen in the context of international Symbolist movements of the turn of the last century but the containment and originality of his art makes it unique.
This exhibition has been organised by the Royal Academy of Arts, London, the National Museum of Western Art and Nikkei Inc., Tokyo
Royal Academy of Arts
Burlington House Piccadilly - London
Saturday - Thursday 10am - 6pm; Friday 10am - 10pm
pounds 8 full price; 7 Registered Disabled and 60 + years; £6 NUS / ISIC cardholders; 4
12-18 years and Income Support; 3 8-11 years; 7 and under free.