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

Within the quiet solitude of plush historic homes, Tilemann-Petersen found his nirvana. Accurately rendering each surface with geometric precision and a keen understanding of perspective. His works are linear, every composition elevated by strong verticals and horizontals. Note the right edge of the portrait, which creates an interplay with the table. Vermeer springs to mind in this respect, his mathematical obsession and sense of absolute stillness. And the chair in the bottom left, which pushes our gaze back into the room.

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 and held within a later gilt frame.

Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 27” x 33½” / 69cm x 85cm
Year of creation: 1909
Labels & Inscriptions: Inscribed on reverse.
Condition: Artwork presents well. 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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