Carl Holsøe

The Danish artist Carl Holsøe ranks as one of three artists who together revivified domestic interior painting in 19th century Scandinavian art. Together with Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864-1916) and Peter Ilsted (1861-1933), his focus was on the quiet longing emanating from lonely figures in still interiors. But whereas Hammershøi would go on to achieve renown with the evocation of psychological moments encapsulated by figures frozen in time, and Ilsted became a considerable graphic artist, Holsøe was perhaps the most "painterly" of the three. Where Hammershøi would almost invariably apply the paint on his canvases sparingly, so as to suggest a sense of otherness, Holsøe was the more confident in his use of technique and composition.

Our present work is a good example of this. The nocturnal composition is intelligently balanced, with a young woman sitting almost motionless, holding up the book she is reading by the light of a single lampshade. Two tall mirrors flank her on either side, with the backdrop being provided by a set of double windows looking out into what is presumably a garden. The almost rectangular pattern of the composition makes it resemble an altar, with the mirrors acting as side wings. Identical sideboards are placed at the foot of each mirror. A row of potted plants lines the windowsill.

The sense of solitude and perhaps abandonment is reinforced by the single light source in the centre of the painting, which illuminates the windows and the woman, although her legs are indiscernible in the shadow. Holsøe has impacted the shade of the lamp, so as to reinforce its powerful glow. The rest of the canvas is painted in thin sombre colours. The artist clearly wants the viewer to identify with the anonymous woman [1]. The interplay of light and darkness, together with the serene atmosphere, engenders an almost religious peacefulness. Yet one can also sense forlornness and longing: beneath all the accoutrements of a comfortable middle-class drawing room, some sadness seems to be hiding.

Carl Holsøe was born in Aarhus in 1863 as the son of an architect. He attended Copenhagen's Royal Academy of Fine Arts in 1882 and switched to study at the Free Academy led by P.S. Krøyer, Denmark's leading impressionist, in 1884. It was there that he became friends with his fellow student Vilhelm Hammershøi, an attachment that was to last until Hammershøi's death. Each was to exercise mutual influence and inspiration on the other's artistic development [2]. He soon achieved success at exhibitions, and gained honourable mentions at exhibitions in Paris (1889) and Munich (1891). He continued to paint and exhibit until his death in 1935.

Holsøe's work can be found in many leading museums in Scandinavia, although his international prominence has started to grow in recent years, and examples of his art can also be found elsewhere, for example, the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid.

It is difficult to establish a precise chronology of Holsøe's oeuvre, as he did not have the habit of dating his work. It is therefore difficult to state with absolute certainty when our painting was made. Nevertheless, it seems to have held an attraction for the artist, as he chose to submit it to be exhibited at Charlottenborg in 1927.


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1. The artist's wife, Emilie, was almost certainly the model for this composition, but this was not intended by Holsøe as a portrait of his wife.

2. Hammershøi and Europe, exh.cat. Statens Museum for Kunst Copenhagen, 2012, pp. 76 and 91.