Exhibition ‘Hammershøi. The Listening Eye’

Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza is opening Spain’s first retrospective of the Danish artist Vilhelm Hammershøi, bringing together almost a hundred of his works. The paintings, famous for their cool, silent interiors, immerse the viewer in a special atmosphere of quiet harmony and hidden emotions.

The exhibition shows how Hammershøi combined the strict lines of interiors with the subtle psychology of his characters, and makes it possible to see the connection between his work and the Dutch masters of the 17th century and his contemporaries of the 19th and 20th centuries, including Edward Hopper. Particular attention is paid to the role of his wife, Ida Hammershøi, in the creative process, the evolution of domestic interiors, and parallels with architecture and landscapes.

The subtitle ‘The Listening Eye’ reflects the artist’s interest in music and subtle observation, which makes his paintings both calm and unsettling, familiar and mysterious.