Inger Hanmann's paintings

Inger Hanmann was born in Stege in 1918. At an early age she developed a profound interest in music and drawing – an interest that stayed with her for the rest of her life. After she graduated from school, she went to Copenhagen in order to begin at The School of Drawing and Design for Women where she studied from 1935 to 1938. Here, she became interested in modern art. Visiting exhibitions of e.g. Matisse and Picasso made a deep impression on her.

After her marriage and the birth of her daughter Marianne, who would later become a photographer, Inger Hanmann began at Peter Rostrup Bøyesen's painting school in Copenhagen in 1946. Here she studied until 1952, and it was here she met the painter Poul H. who was the reason she decided to break with her former existence and begin a new life with him. Together they had the daughter Charlotte who, incidentally, also became a photographer. For thirty years they lived together in a small flat in Sydhavnen until they moved to Gammel Kongevej where they could each have a studio. 

Inger Hanmann's breakthrough came when the manager of Schou's Industries encouraged her to use enamel in her paintings – a material that was part of Schou's range of products. This marked the beginning of a period in which she created a great number of decorative works which later led to partnerships with e.g. A. Michelsen's and Georg Jensen's silversmith's workshops where she transposed her experiences in painting to a series of original enamelled hollowware.

Many of Inger Hanmann's works were designed as integral elements of architecture, including the world's largest enamel sculpture for Landmandsbanken and an enamel ornament measuring more than 100 square metres for Copenhagen Airport. 

View all paintings by Inger Hanmann