Vilhelm Hammershøi (b. Copenhagen 1864, d. s.p. 1916)
Portrait of the artist's brother, Svend Hammershøi (1873–1948). 1892. Unsigned. Oil on canvas. 36×38 cm.
Svend Hammershøi is 19 years old, when his brother portraits him in 1892. Hammershøi's patron Alfred Bramsen orders a portrait of Svend, and Hammershøi paints three very similar versions. One was included in Bramsen's collection. It measures 47×36 cm and is today at Ordrupgaard Museum. Svend Hammershøi owned another version (43×40 cm), and Vilhelm Hammershøi kept the last one (this painting) for himself.
Svend Hammershøi is himself a highly acclaimed painter and ceramicist. He began making ceramics as early as 1888 and in 1891 he was employed at Royal Copenhagen. In 1890 he began to study at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts and in 1892 - the same year, as this portrait was painted - he began studying at Kunstnernes Frie Studieskole (The Free School of Study for Artists) with Kristian Zahrtmann as a teacher.
Exhibited: Kunstforeningen, “Fortegnelse over arbejder af Vilhelm Hammershøi”, 1916 no. 90.
Provenance: Ida Hammershøi (1916). Bruun Rasmussen auction 457, 1984 no. 97, reproduced p. 79. Here acquired by the present owner’s family.
Condition report on request. Please contact: fine-art@bruun-rasmussen.dk
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Paintings and drawings, 26 November 2019