Woman Seen from the Back
1888 · Oil on canvas · Statens Museum for Kunst
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This print
About this work
- Artist
- Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864–1916)
- Year
- 1888
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 63.5 × 55.5 cm
- Collection
- Statens Museum for Kunst (SMK), Copenhagen
- Movement
- Symbolism
A young woman stands with her back to us, head bowed over something in her hands, in a dark blue-black dress with elbow-length sleeves and a white apron tied at the waist. To her right is the edge of a polished wooden table and the curved back of a chair; the rest is a plain warm grey wall. Hammershøi painted it in 1888, three years after his debut at the Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition and before his marriage in 1891, and the woman seen from behind became a lasting figure in his interiors. The National Gallery of Denmark acquired it in 1924.
This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
Warm grey, deep blue-black and a white apron make a calm picture for a bedroom, dressing room or kitchen with plain painted walls. Pair it with Whistler's Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1 and hang this one at 12×18 in a dark wood frame.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Symbolism painting
- Era
- 19th century (1888)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Mood
- intimate
- Rooms
- bedroom, kitchen, living room, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 12×18. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.
Framing. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — black suits the deep tones of this period; dark wood warms it.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is Woman Seen from the Back in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Woman Seen from the Back painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
An exhibition poster
The same artwork as a gallery exhibition poster — title, artist & date typeset beneath the image on a soft ground.
