Exhibited: Faaborg Museum, “Det maleriske nu-Peter Hansen og Martin Bigum” (The Picturesque Now - Peter Hansen and Martin Bigum), 2018. Provenance: Cigar manufacturer O. Wulff. Bruun Rasmussen auction 750, lot no. 1560, 2005, reproduced. For a number of years, Peter Hansen and his family had their Copenhagen residence at Enghave Plads in a garden house close to where the current “Folkets Hus” (The People’s House) is located. In the summer, the family preferred to stay in Fåborg, where Peter Hansen's family was from. Enghave Plads differs from many of Copenhagen's other marketplaces and squares, which are most often surrounded by beautiful buildings that make the space come together and give it character. Here the houses are not very interesting. On the other hand, the square's many beautiful linden trees make the place a green oasis in the spring, where the blossoming trees form a green foliage above the square. Here Peter Hansen found his motifs. It could be playful children, a mother with a pram, a yellow tram, newspaper readers, men drinking beer (“The Sunday Brew”) and many more. Grete Zahle, “Maleren Peter Hansen. Hans liv og arbejde” (The Painter Peter Hansen. His Life and Work), 1984, p. 129, describes the artist's work from Enghave Plads as follows: "The pictures he painted of the environment around Enghave Plads say a lot about the people and their lives – unmasked people both in terms of their face and their behaviour". Peter Hansen found great joy in observing and painting his own children and children in general. He had ample opportunity to observe children playing at Enghave Plads as he crossed the square daily. Here the children from the densely populated surrounding streets gathered to play. Perhaps the best-known work is “Legende børn på Enghave Plads” (Playing Children at Enghave Plads) from 1907–1908 with the dimensions 109 cm x 151 cm (The National Gallery of Denmark, inv. no. KMS2075). In the painting little girls dance around in colourful dresses and aprons while holding hands and bubbling over with joie de vivre. The newly blossoming light green linden trees tell us that spring has arrived.

Peter Hansen is currently exhibiting at Ordrupgaard, 18 May-4 September 2022. The title of the exhibition: “Jeg maler det jeg ser”. (I paint what I see).