In the Bedroom probably shows the Ny Bakkehus on Rahbeks Avenue in Frederiksberg, Copenhagen, where the Hammershøis moved in 1892 (their summers were spent outside the city). A cold but soft grey light pours into the room through the two tall windows at the back, through partly drawn thin white curtains. The room is sparsely furnished with a single bed by the wall to the right (cut short by the edge of the picture), an upholstered chair, and a writing desk between the windows. The desk presents a dark ochre-coloured rectangle. On it stands a blue glass vase with a round shape that mirrors the windows. On the right-hand windowsill stands a houseplant with large oval leaves. In the corner to the right hangs a small picture in a gilt frame. On the far left of the picture stands a woman in a pale dress. She stands facing away from us, resting her hand on the small, painted wooden table, gazing out of the window at what can be made out to be a landscape under a cloudy sky.
The framing brings the motif up close, and the room loses something of its perspectival depth. The figure and the bed are pushed out towards the edges. The composition is austere and geometric. The simplification of the subject matter means that the objects are not only three-dimensional objects in space, but are also emphasized as distinct forms on the surface plane.
The woman has for the moment set aside her everyday concerns in order to contemplate life, and she invites the viewer to do the same. The subdued colours and asceticism of the room, like the careful naturalism of the idiom, contribute to an impression of quiet melancholy.
Kristoffer Arvidsson from The Collection Gothenburg Museum of Art, Gothenburg 2014
