791. CARL HOLSOE (DANMARK, 1863-1935). Interior with woman.

Oil on panel, 40,5 x 49 cm. Signed C Holsöe.

PROVENANCE Scanian private collection, purchased at Crafoord's auctions, Lund 2003.

The Danish artist Carl Holsøe was born in 1863 on the east coast of Jutland in the city of Aarhus. He grew up during a time in rapid development, in which industry and cities expanded and changed. The father in the household, Niels Peder Christian Holsøe, was an architect and his house was built for the most part in the increasingly established brick architecture. At the age of nineteen, Carl Holsøe began studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, followed two years later by studies in artist Peder Severin Kröyer's private art school, Kunstnernes Frie Studieskoler.

A new bourgeoisie with a new way of life was established in the cities and larger floors were built, as well as summer residences for recreation and summer pleasure were erected along the coast. The bourgeois home became an important place, a place with a clear division of space between the private and the social, and where the importance of things grew. Through a greater expansion of trade and import, more people were able to gild their homes and collect objects from afar. Furniture in the rooms received, in addition to its function, representative meanings.

Teaching under the established artist Kröyer led Holsøe to a freer style of painting. However, unlike the skagen painter's approach, which was man's life outdoors, it was interiors that Holsøe took on as a life task to portray. However, the depiction of the changeability of natural sunlight and the influence on the subject united him with the master Kröyer. And this association, despite different choice of motives, is palpable.

Most of Holsøe's oeuvre thus depicts beautiful, contemplative rooms in sheer colors. The homes are bourgeois and well furnished with mahogany furniture, porcelain and light textiles. Often a woman is portrayed from behind, immersed in a quiet activity, such as reading or needlework. The proximity to nature is palpable through, often hidden, light inlets which create a subtle, pleasant light over the room. Not infrequently, it is the dawn that gently awakens the home. Tenacity, choice of subjects and lighting united Holsøe with his friend, the like-minded artist Vilhelm Hammershøi. The inspiration of the two artists, in addition to the interiors of their contemporaries, can be traced back to the interior painting of the Dutch Golden Age, in which objects are highlighted as a central part of the work together with a woman seen from afar.

In “Interior with Woman” it is most likely the artist's wife, Emelie Heisse, who sits in a contemplative mood in the interior room. The varying shades of the floor from worn parts and deep shadows, give a vivid beautiful impression. The large double doors that stand on at the gable let in the supplied daylight from a hidden light source on the left. The passageway is provided with white and black-edged clinkers, a choice that testifies that the room accommodates a way out. A green plant has been picked in the garden and stands in tin jug on the small flap table. In the far distance, a woman sits in front of a beautiful variegated window with green healthy vegetation outside. Immersed in her needlework, her face is hidden. The light captured by all the wooden details of the piece also illuminates her dress and makes a red tone shine. A spatiality in quiet harmony.

This interior has a timeless character while telling a lot about the tastes of its contemporaries and the liver. It is at the same time both interesting and beautiful. A captivating painting that adds great beauty and tranquility.