Skovparti fra Falster 1897

Svend Hammershøi made this pencil drawing of a forest on the island of Falster, Denmark. Hammershøi belongs to a generation of artists at the turn of the 20th century who broke with the dominant styles of academic painting and naturalism, turning towards a stripped-down aesthetic that captured something essential about the modern experience. The emphasis on a direct, unmediated encounter with nature aligns with broader European trends, but Hammershøi's rendering is unique. He has a clear focus on the trees and the rocks on the ground in the forest. The high level of finish speaks to the importance of drawing in the Royal Danish Academy, where Hammershøi was trained, but his aesthetic is resolutely modern. When we consider Hammershøi, we must look to the social conditions that fostered his development, and to the art market in Copenhagen that made his work possible. The social history of art reminds us that aesthetic value is contingent on such forces.