Hans Jørgen Hammer (b. Copenhagen 1815, d. Rome 1882)
A female nude putting on her slippers. Model study. Madam Hack. 1843. Unsigned. Oil on canvas. 126×92.
Hans Jørgen Hammer was a student of C. W. Eckersberg. In the summer of 1841 and 1843, he participated in Eckersberg's famous summer classes, where Eckersberg introduced the students to drawing and painting nude female models – in 1841 a model named Florentine sat for the students and in 1843 the model was Madam Hack.
In 1843, Hammer participated in Eckersberg's summer classes alongside the painters Jens Vilhelm Top (1812–1883), Joel Ballin (1822–1885), Friedrich Theodor Baasch (1819–1872) and Carl Balsgaard (1812–1893). Madam Hack sat as a model for two sessions, and we know that the present work is from the second session (25 July - 13 September), since Carl Balsgaard also painted Madam Hack in this specific pose, and he only participated in the second session.
Madam Hack is seen from different points of view In the various nude paintings of her. In Eckersberg's famous work from this session, “Nude Woman Putting on Her Slippers” (The Glyptotek inv. no. MIN 2062) the model is seen from the left side and at an angle from behind. In Balsgaard's study she is seen from the left side straight on, and in Hammer’s work the model is seen from the left side at an angle from the front. There is also a known nude, where she is seen from the right side, and one where she is seen almost from the front.
The students often worked in large formats as can be seen in the present painting, while Eckersberg typically worked in a smaller format – his “Nude Woman Putting on Her Slippers”, for instance, measures 65×46 cm.
On 13 September 1843, Madam Hack sat as a model for the last time and on 16 September Eckersberg wrote in his diary (in Danish): “At the Painting School, where the five painters, Top, Ballin, Balsgaard, Baasch and Hammer today finished their figure paintings.”
Literature: “”Den nøgne Guldalder. Modelbilleder. C. W. Eckersberg og hans elever", The Hirschsprung Collection, 1994. Several works from the second session with Madam Hack can be seen in the exhibition catalogue.
Provenance: Bruun Rasmussen auction 705, 2002 no. 1042, reproduced p. 31.
Please note: The item is subject to the Anti-Money Laundering Act. In the event of a hammer price of DKK 50,000 or more, including buyer’s premium, the buyer must submit a copy of a valid photo ID and proof of address in order to collect the item.
Paintings & drawings, 30 November 2021