Støvkornenes dans i solstrålerne

When he exhibited the painting, Hammershøi called it Solskin (sunshine) or Solstråler (sunbeams). It was only later it was given the more poetic title of Støvkornenes dans i solstrålerne.[1] It is displayed in the Ordrupgaard Museum.

The painting (oil on canvas, 70 x 59 cm) presents an empty room in Hammershøi's 17th-century apartment in the Christianshavn district of Copenhagen. The bare panelled walls, without any furnishings or decorations, are illuminated by rays of winter sunlight shining through the window, a pattern of light and shade falling on the wooden floor.[2]

The central feature of the work is the recessed window, through which shafts of dust-filled light shine diagonally down into the greyness of the room. The lack of colour is typical of Hammershøi. The overall impression is that the painting portrays a dark, silent psychological space although in fact the room was located in a busy part of the city, close to the noise of docks and factories.[3]

Like many of his contemporaries, Hammershøi used photography as a basis for his works. This is also the case here. Indeed, the painting conveys the impression of a black and white photograph with all the intermediate greys while the dusty rays of sunlight give the room a highly poetic look. As in the paintings of the Romantic period, the window can be seen as a symbol of longing and dreaming, connecting the room's interior with the world outside, juxtaposing near and far.[4]