This early 20th-century oil painting by Danish artist Christian Tilemann-Petersen (1874-1926) depicts a room at Gavnø Castle in Næstved, Denmark.

Within the quiet solitude of plush historic homes, Tilemann-Petersen found his nirvana. Accurately rendering each surface with a keen understanding of light. His works are linear, every composition elevated by strong geometric precision. Vermeer springs to mind in this respect, his mathematical obsession and sense of absolute stillness. Note how the window draws the eye, as light falls across the floorboards. And the gilt clock in the foreground, alongside two finely decorated pots.

Tilemann-Petersen’s oeuvre speaks of a quiet man, keen to catalogue the sumptuous interiors of noteworthy Scandinavian buildings. With every detailed composition devoid of figures and interruption.

Signed/dated lower left and held within a later gilt frame.

Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 30½” x 27” / 77cm x 68cm
Year of creation: 1918
Labels & Inscriptions: Inscribed on the reverse.
Condition: Artwork presents well. Light craquelure but the paint is stable. Frame with some light wear.
Artist’s auction maximum: £12,203 (Sotheby's)

Christian Tilemann-Petersen

Christian Tilemann-Petersen trained at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. He exhibited frequently and Frederiksborg Museum holds numerous works.

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