Artwork
Still Life with Bottle
Still Life with Bottle is an oil painting by Harald Giersing. It dates from 1923 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Overview
Harald Giersing’s *Still Life with Bottle* (1923) is an oil painting that resides in Denmark’s Statens Museum for Kunst. Executed during the artist’s involvement with early‑20th‑century classic modernism, the work aligns with the Neue Sachlichkeit tendency toward sober, observational representation of ordinary objects.
Subject & Meaning
The composition presents a cluttered tabletop populated by a dark bottle, a white bowl and additional vessels whose forms suggest a pitcher or vase. The arrangement emphasizes the physical presence of everyday items, inviting contemplation of their shape and materiality rather than narrative content.
Technique & Style
Giersing employs a heavy impasto application, laying down thick, rough brushstrokes that build a tactile surface. A limited palette of black, gray and muted tones dominates, while a plain, faded background recedes, allowing the painted forms to stand out in near‑three‑dimensional relief.
History & Provenance
Created in 1923, the painting entered the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst, Denmark’s national gallery, where it remains on view. Its acquisition reflects the museum’s commitment to representing the country’s modernist heritage.
Context
The work emerges from the interwar period’s Neue Sachlichkeit movement, which favored objective, unembellished depictions of daily life. Giersing’s approach mirrors this ethos, focusing on formal qualities—shape, volume, texture—over sentimental or symbolic interpretation.
Artist & collection
Artist
Harald Giersing (24 April 1881 – 15 January 1927) was a Danish painter. He was instrumental in developing the classic modernism movement in Denmark around 1910-1920. He is remembered as one of Denmark's most important…
