The Music Room by Vilhelm Hammershoi

Vilhelm Hammershoi, The Music Room, oil on canvas, late 19th c., Denmark

In the mid-1990s I spent many months in Denmark exploring every inch of the country from the northernmost tip of the peninsula of Jutland to the capital of Copenhagen. I explored museum, galleries, and private art collections. I breathed in the beauty of the landscape in every season. I fell in love with the people and their culture. And, I fell in love with the art.

One artist whose paintings I was mesmerized by was Vilhelm Hammershoi, considered one of Denmark’s most celebrated artists and referred to as “the painter of tranquil rooms”. The still, quiet mood of his paintings drew me in immediately. Hammershoi’s paintings portray a melancholic, quiet mood, depicting rooms that are still and sparse.

The picture space in The Music Room is clearly defined. Hammershoi embraces naturalism while bringing a level of abstraction. The colors are muted, the palette limited, the light tangible. Time is absent. 

The Music Room depicts a piano, cello, and violin meticulously placed. The light source comes from the window on the left, illuminating the instruments. The room is eerily empty. Did musicians just leave after practicing together? Or have they yet to arrive?

The Music Room exudes tranquility, solitude, mystery, and melancholy. Can you feel the tranquil space of The Music Room? Do you sense the creative potential ready to break out?

Katabira River and Katabira Bridge by Utagawa Hiroshige

Utagawa Hiroshige, Katabira River and Katabira Bridge at Hodogaya, No. 5, 1842-1857, color woodblock print, Institute of Chicago

The poetic beauty of Japanese art soothes the soul. The Japanese artist views the natural world as spiritual inspiration, as well as an echoing of human emotions. 

One form of art which originated in the Far East is the woodblock. The artist carves an image into a block of wood; this creates a relief.  A piece of paper or fabric is pressed onto the block; this transfers the image from the wooden relief onto the surface. The primary wood that is used is from wild cherries (“yamazakura” in Japanese) due to its strength and firmness.

The word, “Ukio-e”, which means “ picture of the floating world”, was a Japanese art movement that was predominant from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries. The “ukio-e”print depicts the everyday life of the people. The “ukio-e” woodblock has an illusion of depth that has a spiritual quality.

Utagawa Hiroshige was a master of the Japanese landscape woodblock print. He was revered for his scenes of rain, snow, mist, which gave a sense of contentment to the mind and soul. In this other-worldly print my eye is drawn into the scene by the intense lapis blue Katabira River as it winds the distance. I feel the cold as I view the snow-covered mountains and delicate trees as the people make their way across the bridge, yet Spring is in the air as indicated by the green foliage in the background and peeking through in the foreground.

I love how Hiroshige creates a calming quality in a winter scene. Winters can be depressing with months of cold, snow, bitter winds. Yet, soaking in a scene as this one can lift our spirits.