This mid-20th-century oil painting by Danish artist Robert Panitzsch (1879-1949) depicts a woman reading within a candlelit interior. Panitzsch was born in the USA but later immigrated to Denmark and became a national. He’s particularly well-admired for his interior scenes.

Panitzsch’s father worked as a stationmaster and occasionally Robert would accompany him to draw while sitting in the station waiting room. Sketching various travellers before they headed off on their journeys. On one occasion, his skilful productions caught the eye of a distinguished gentleman from Emperor Wilhelm's court who was so impressed with the young man’s potential that he guaranteed his acceptance into the Imperial Academy of Arts in Berlin.

Following his time at the Academy, he was employed as a church painter and met his future wife, Fanny Christensen, who was working for the Red Cross. This marriage ultimately led to him becoming a Danish citizen later in life. The Danes have a strong heritage of capturing an evocative atmosphere and Panitzsch would’ve enjoyed the inspiration.

Here, in this piece from 1937, the mood is one of quiet reflection. The hushed atmosphere broken only by the occasional turning of a page and the hourly chime of a grandfather clock. It’s possibly his own home as the oil paintings match his typical palette. The piece on the far left, although a little blurry, resembles an interior we’ve had in our collection.

Signed/dated lower right and held within its original frame.

Learn more about Robert Panitzsch in our directory.

Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 36” x 44” / 91cm x 112cm
Year of creation: 1937 
Provenance: Private collection, Denmark.
Condition: Assessed and approved by our conservator. Cleaned. Revarnished. Four tidy patched repairs. Frame with light marks and signs of age.
Artist’s auction maximum: £10,000 for ‘In the Rose Garden (1921)’, Oil on canvas, Christie’s, Scandinavian Pictures, Drawings, Prints And Sculpture, London, 1990 (lot 101).