Our painting is a "window on the world": a simple vista from an upstairs window into what looks like a small town. Along the narrow passage leading past the houses a few pedestrians can be seen. In the distance smoke is coming from a factory chimney. A little ray of sunshine emanates from an alleyway, leading off the main street on the right. Interestingly, the artist has prominently included the windowsill, as wel as the window itself, which has been swung wide open. In leaves the viewer both ensconced and free simultaneously.
The artist who made this is Bertha Wegmann (1847-1926), one of the leading female Danish painters of the 19th century. Born in 1847 in Switzerland, Wegmann's family moved to Copenhagen when she was only five years old. Wanting to become a professional artist, she encountered many obstacles, not least the fact that in the 1860s the Danish Academy of Art did not allow women to enrol. She therefore had to complete her training abroad, studying first in Munich in 1867 and thereafter spending time in Paris in 1881. Being an accomplished painter, however, she had already exhibited at Charlottenborg in 1873. By 1888 she occupied a Chair at the Royal Danish Academy and from then on represented her country at many international art fairs.
Although no record survives confirming the exact identity of the location, the view from the window was almost certainly painted from the Women Readers' Association located on Gammel Mønt in Copenhagen. The chimney in the distance is therefore likely to have belonged to the electricity plant in Borgergade (nowadays called the Turbinehallerne). The Women Readers' Association was run by the formidable Sophie Alberti, who was a close friend of Bertha Wegmann's [1].
The property at Gammel Mont served as a type of ladies' club, with special facilities for its members like a library, lecture hall and sets of rooms. Bertha Wegmann lived there for short periods on end, and it was probably during there last extended stay at the Association (from 1916-24) that she made the current painting.
So much for the history. But what about the painting itself? What's most remarkable about it is probably its compactness. The understated colours make a tranquil atmosphere, with the view of the distance being cloaked in a very muted grey. The French impressionist influence on Wegmann is very clear. The artist has applied the paint firmly, but has deliberately left the outline of both the buildings and the people soft and out of focus.
In recent years interest in the art of Bertha Wegmann has grown. In 2022 the Hirschsprung Museum in Copenhagen staged a big exhibition of her work.
___________________________
1. Hirschsprung Collection, Bertha Wegmann, exh. cat. 2022, p. 157, 187.
The artist who made this is Bertha Wegmann (1847-1926), one of the leading female Danish painters of the 19th century. Born in 1847 in Switzerland, Wegmann's family moved to Copenhagen when she was only five years old. Wanting to become a professional artist, she encountered many obstacles, not least the fact that in the 1860s the Danish Academy of Art did not allow women to enrol. She therefore had to complete her training abroad, studying first in Munich in 1867 and thereafter spending time in Paris in 1881. Being an accomplished painter, however, she had already exhibited at Charlottenborg in 1873. By 1888 she occupied a Chair at the Royal Danish Academy and from then on represented her country at many international art fairs.
Although no record survives confirming the exact identity of the location, the view from the window was almost certainly painted from the Women Readers' Association located on Gammel Mønt in Copenhagen. The chimney in the distance is therefore likely to have belonged to the electricity plant in Borgergade (nowadays called the Turbinehallerne). The Women Readers' Association was run by the formidable Sophie Alberti, who was a close friend of Bertha Wegmann's [1].
The property at Gammel Mont served as a type of ladies' club, with special facilities for its members like a library, lecture hall and sets of rooms. Bertha Wegmann lived there for short periods on end, and it was probably during there last extended stay at the Association (from 1916-24) that she made the current painting.
So much for the history. But what about the painting itself? What's most remarkable about it is probably its compactness. The understated colours make a tranquil atmosphere, with the view of the distance being cloaked in a very muted grey. The French impressionist influence on Wegmann is very clear. The artist has applied the paint firmly, but has deliberately left the outline of both the buildings and the people soft and out of focus.
In recent years interest in the art of Bertha Wegmann has grown. In 2022 the Hirschsprung Museum in Copenhagen staged a big exhibition of her work.
___________________________
1. Hirschsprung Collection, Bertha Wegmann, exh. cat. 2022, p. 157, 187.
View through a window
Signed lower left: B. Wegmann
Oil on board
27,5 x 19,5 cm
Provenance
Private collection, Copenhagen
Our painting is a "window on the world": a simple vista from an upstairs window into what looks like a small town. Along the narrow passage leading past the houses a few pedestrians can be seen. In the distance smoke is coming from a factory chimney. A little ray of sunshine emanates from an alleyway, leading off the main street on the right. Interestingly, the artist has prominently included the windowsill, as wel as the window itself, which has been swung wide open. In leaves the viewer both ensconced and free simultaneously.
The artist who made this is Bertha Wegmann (1847-1926), one of the leading female Danish painters of the 19th century. Born in 1847 in Switzerland, Wegmann's family moved to Copenhagen when she was only five years old. Wanting to become a professional artist, she encountered many obstacles, not least the fact that in the 1860s the Danish Academy of Art did not allow women to enrol. She therefore had to complete her training abroad, studying first in Munich in 1867 and thereafter spending time in Paris in 1881. Being an accomplished painter, however, she had already exhibited at Charlottenborg in 1873. By 1888 she occupied a Chair at the Royal Danish Academy and from then on represented her country at many international art fairs.
Although no record survives confirming the exact identity of the location, the view from the window was almost certainly painted from the Women Readers' Association located on Gammel Mønt in Copenhagen. The chimney in the distance is therefore likely to have belonged to the electricity plant in Borgergade (nowadays called the Turbinehallerne). The Women Readers' Association was run by the formidable Sophie Alberti, who was a close friend of Bertha Wegmann's [1].
The property at Gammel Mont served as a type of ladies' club, with special facilities for its members like a library, lecture hall and sets of rooms. Bertha Wegmann lived there for short periods on end, and it was probably during there last extended stay at the Association (from 1916-24) that she made the current painting.
So much for the history. But what about the painting itself? What's most remarkable about it is probably its compactness. The understated colours make a tranquil atmosphere, with the view of the distance being cloaked in a very muted grey. The French impressionist influence on Wegmann is very clear. The artist has applied the paint firmly, but has deliberately left the outline of both the buildings and the people soft and out of focus.
In recent years interest in the art of Bertha Wegmann has grown. In 2022 the Hirschsprung Museum in Copenhagen staged a big exhibition of her work.
___________________________
1. Hirschsprung Collection, Bertha Wegmann, exh. cat. 2022, p. 157, 187.
The artist who made this is Bertha Wegmann (1847-1926), one of the leading female Danish painters of the 19th century. Born in 1847 in Switzerland, Wegmann's family moved to Copenhagen when she was only five years old. Wanting to become a professional artist, she encountered many obstacles, not least the fact that in the 1860s the Danish Academy of Art did not allow women to enrol. She therefore had to complete her training abroad, studying first in Munich in 1867 and thereafter spending time in Paris in 1881. Being an accomplished painter, however, she had already exhibited at Charlottenborg in 1873. By 1888 she occupied a Chair at the Royal Danish Academy and from then on represented her country at many international art fairs.
Although no record survives confirming the exact identity of the location, the view from the window was almost certainly painted from the Women Readers' Association located on Gammel Mønt in Copenhagen. The chimney in the distance is therefore likely to have belonged to the electricity plant in Borgergade (nowadays called the Turbinehallerne). The Women Readers' Association was run by the formidable Sophie Alberti, who was a close friend of Bertha Wegmann's [1].
The property at Gammel Mont served as a type of ladies' club, with special facilities for its members like a library, lecture hall and sets of rooms. Bertha Wegmann lived there for short periods on end, and it was probably during there last extended stay at the Association (from 1916-24) that she made the current painting.
So much for the history. But what about the painting itself? What's most remarkable about it is probably its compactness. The understated colours make a tranquil atmosphere, with the view of the distance being cloaked in a very muted grey. The French impressionist influence on Wegmann is very clear. The artist has applied the paint firmly, but has deliberately left the outline of both the buildings and the people soft and out of focus.
In recent years interest in the art of Bertha Wegmann has grown. In 2022 the Hirschsprung Museum in Copenhagen staged a big exhibition of her work.
___________________________
1. Hirschsprung Collection, Bertha Wegmann, exh. cat. 2022, p. 157, 187.
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