Svend Hammershøi (10 August 1873 – 27 February 1948) was a Danish painter and ceramist.
[Sigurd Schultz: ] He is remembered principally for the classical pottery designs he contributed to the
Royal Copenhagen
Royal Copenhagen, officially the Royal Porcelain Factory ( da, Den Kongelige Porcelænsfabrik), is a Danish manufacturer of porcelain products and was founded in Copenhagen in 1775 under the protection of Danish Dowager Queen Juliane Marie. It is ...
(''Kongelige Porcelainsfabrik'') and to Kähler's Ceramics Factory (''Kählers Keramiske Værksted'') in
Næstved
Næstved () is a town in the municipality of the same name, located in the southern part of the island of Zealand in Denmark.
Næstved has several adult education centers, five elementary schools - and has at least one of each type of the four ...
.
Biography
Born in the
Frederiksberg
Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is formally an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the City of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of ...
district of Copenhagen, he was the younger brother of the painter
Vilhelm Hammershøi
Vilhelm Hammershøi (), often anglicised as Vilhelm Hammershoi (15 May 186413 February 1916), was a Danish painter. He is known for his poetic, subdued portraits and interiors.Souren Melikian,Hammershoi's decade of brilliance, before banality set ...
(1864–1916) who was a strong source of influence and inspiration.
After a preparatory period at the
Copenhagen Technical College
Copenhagen Technical College (Danish: Københavns Tekniske Skole, KTS) is a school of secondary education in Copenhagen, Denmark. The school offers educational programmes within the technical sciences on a secondary level to post-primary youth, Hig ...
, he studied painting at the
Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts
The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts ( da, Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi - Billedkunst Skolerne) has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark.
History
The Royal Dani ...
from 1890 to 1892, after which he spent a further five years at
Kunstnernes Frie Studieskoler
Kunstnernes Frie Studieskoler was an art school established in Copenhagen in 1882 as a protest against the policies of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and to provide an alternative to its educational program. It existed until 1912 and was a c ...
, the artists school operated by
Kristian Zahrtmann
Peder Henrik Kristian Zahrtmann, known as Kristian Zahrtmann, (31 March 1843 – 22 June 1917) was a Denmark, Danish Painting, painter. He was a part of the Danish artistic generation in the late 19th century, along with Peder Severin Krøyer and ...
.
[
From the age of 14, Hammershøi had been interested in ceramics. In 1888, he began to decorate porcelain at Kjøbenhavns Lervarefabrik in ]Valby
Valby () is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is in the southwestern corner of Copenhagen Municipality, and has a mixture of different types of housing. This includes apartment blocks, terraced housing, areas with single ...
where from 1890 to 1905 he worked together with Thorvald Bindesbøll
Thorvald Bindesbøll (21 July 1846 – 27 August 1908) was a Danish National romantic architect, sculptor and ornamental artist. He designed the Dragon Fountain, Copenhagen (''Dragespringvandet'') and is perhaps best known as the creator of t ...
. Between 1893 and 1894 he published drawings in the symbolist magazine ''Taarnet
''Taarnet'' (Danish: ''The Tower'') was a monthly art and literary magazine founded and edited by Johannes Jørgensen in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was subtitled as Illustreret Tidsskrift for Kunst og Litteratur (Danish: Illustrated Magazine for Art ...
''.[ He also spent two lengthy periods with ]Herman A. Kähler
Herman August Kähler, usually known as Herman A. Kähler, (6 March 1846 – 16 November 1917) was a Danish ceramic designer and manufacturer who ran the Kähler ceramic factory ('' Kählers Keramiske Værksted'') in Næstved, Denmark. His daughter ...
in Næstved, in addition to assignments at the Kongelige Porcelainsfabrik and Bing & Grøndahl
Bing & Grøndahl was a Danish porcelain manufacturer founded in 1853 by the sculptor Frederik Vilhelm Grøndahl and merchant brothers Meyer Hermann Bing and Jacob Herman Bing. The trademark backstamp for Bing & Grøndahl (B&G) porcelains is the t ...
. When Bindesbøll died in 1908, Hammershøi lost interest in ceramics and turned back to painting, concentrating on landscapes, initially sketches and watercolours, later oils. Hammershøi traveled to Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
in 1894, to Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...
in 1896-97. On a study grant, he moved to England in 1910 where he spent the next four years creating architectural paintings of Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
and Wells
Wells most commonly refers to:
* Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England
* Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground
* Wells (name)
Wells may also refer to:
Places Canada
*Wells, British Columbia
England
* Wells ...
. From 1910 until 1933 he was almost annually in Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
. He returned to Denmark during the First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
painting Kronborg
Kronborg is a castle and stronghold in the town of Helsingør, Denmark. Immortalized as Elsinore in William Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet'', Kronborg is one of the most important Renaissance castles in Northern Europe and was inscribed on the UNES ...
, Gåsetårnet in Vordingborg
Vordingborg () is an old ferry town in Vordingborg Municipality in Denmark with around 18,000 inhabitants. Because of three large estates surrounding the town, a coherent urban development has not been possible, which is the reason why three sat ...
and scenes of Copenhagen's old town.[
He exhibited at the in Paris during 1925 and at ]Royal Institute of British Architects
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...
in London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
in 1927. Hammershøi also published a biography: ''Thorvald Bindesbøll in Memoriam, 1846-1946''. He died during 1948 in Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
and was buried at Solbjerg Park Cemetery
Solbjerg Park Cemetery ( da, Solbjerg Parkkirkegård) Is a 19-hectare cemetery in Frederiksberg in the western outskirts of inner Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1865, it is one of three cemeteries in Frederiksberg Municipality
Frederiksberg Ko ...
in Frederiksberg
Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is formally an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the City of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of ...
.[
A painting of Svend Hammershøi (Nørregade Copenhagen) was sold at Sotherby’s in 2016 for circa 25.000 pounds.
]
Awards
In 1925, Hammershøi (together with Holger Kyster) was awarded a gold medal at the in Paris for his silverware.[
Hammershøi became a Knight of the ]Order of the Dannebrog
The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...
in 1925 and in 1944 he received the Thorvaldsen Medal
The Thorvaldsen Medal (Danish: Thorvaldsens Medalje, Thorvaldsen Medaillen) is awarded annually with few exceptions to a varying number of recipients by the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and is its highest distinction within the visual arts. It ...
.
Legacy
While Hammershøi's ceramics have long been appreciated, his paintings have been overshadowed by those of his brother Vilhelm. Recently, however, international interest has grown in his scenes of nature and architecture, generally painted in the open air. His paintings often carry a sombre golden tone, creating a rather mystical impression of trees and buildings.
In 2008, Øregaard Museum in Hellerup
Hellerup () is a very affluent district of Gentofte Municipality in the suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. The most urban part of the district is centred on Strandvejen and is bordered by Østerbro to the south and the Øresund to the east. It compri ...
(in conjunction with Næstved Museum
Næstved Museum is located in Helligåndshuset (House of the Holy Spirit) in Næstved, central Zealand, Denmark. Its collections trace the development of the area from the last ice age to the present. Highlights include an extensive collection of t ...
and Skovgaard Museum) presented an extensive exhibition of Svend Hammershøi's work. Consisting of over a hundred artefacts, it included drawings, paintings, ceramics and silverware.[
]
References
Literature
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hammershoi, Svend
1873 births
1948 deaths
People from Frederiksberg
Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni
Danish silversmiths
20th-century Danish biographers
19th-century Danish painters
Danish male painters
20th-century Danish painters
20th-century Danish ceramists
Artists from Copenhagen
Designers from Copenhagen
Artisans from Copenhagen
Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog
Recipients of the Thorvaldsen Medal
19th-century Danish male artists
20th-century Danish male artists