Exhibited: Kunstforeningen, “Udstilling af Arbejder af Viggo Johansen i Anledning af hans 80-aarige Fødselsdag”, 1931 no. 143.

Provenance: Merchant Axel Parnow (1931). Bruun Rasmussen auction 435, 1982 no. 74, ill. p. 77.

The present painting is a study for the painting “Aftenselskab i mit hjem” (An Evening Party in the Artist's Home), which is owned by The National Gallery of Denmark (Inv. No. KMS1632).

The people in the painting are, from the left: doctor and professor Julius Petersen (1840–1912), the artist Valdemar Irminger (1850–1938), merchant Oscar Wandel (1845–1925), art historian and artist Karl Madsen (1855–1938), artist Mathilde Koch (1834–1922), artist Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864–1916), artist Elisabeth Wandel (1845–1924), philosopher Harald Høffding (1843–1931), actress Ane Grethe Anthonsen (1855–1930), Thora Madsen (1858–1929), the artist's wife Martha Johansen (1861–1929) and Vilhelm Hammershøi's wife Ida hammershøi (1869–1949).

“Aftenselskab i mit hjem” is one of several paintings that Viggo Johansen painted, depicting the artist's friends and acquaintances gathered together. Elisabeth Fabritius writes about these (in Danish):

“It was Johansen's ability not only to reproduce a credible depiction of a scene from reality, but to infuse this scene with life, as if one could feel the life, hear the voices, be drawn into this community, that was the great strength of these motifs and what made them so unique. No one but Johansen could depict this lived life so intimately, make the viewer feel so much inside an artist's home, so much as part of his circle of friends. The great strength and originality of Johansen's friendship paintings is that they are captivating depictions of life. At the same time, they provide us a portrait gallery of the cultural class's network in Copenhagen at the end of the 19th century.” (Elisabeth Fabritius, “Netværksbilleder” in the exhibition catalogue “Hos mig - Skagensmaleren Viggo Johansen”, The Hirschsprung Collection, Ribe Art Museum & The Art Museums of Skagen, 2025–26, pp. 111–115).