Vilhelm Hammershøi, 1864-1916 Danish Painter of Solitude and Light

This book - the catalogue accompanying a widely acclaimed exhibition at Ordrupgaard, Copenhagen, the Musee d'Orsay, Paris, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York - reveals the mysterious, melancholy world evoked in Hammershoi's works. Hammershoi's originality was recognized by his peers, but his work was too controversial to gain much support in Denmark during his lifetime. However, it was appreciated by collectors and institutions in England, France, Germany, and Italy, where it became known in exhibitions from the 1890s until his death. Frequently compared to Vermeer in his extraordinary use of line, light, and shadow, Hammershoi punctuates his hallmark interiors and landscapes with a mood of concentrated solitude. His remarkable portraits of friends and family become psychological studies, often revealing the isolation and loneliness of long, dark Scandinavian Winters.