Artwork
To unge piger i et lysthus
To unge piger i et lysthus is an oil painting by the Post-Impressionist artist Peter Hansen. It dates from 1892 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Overview
Peter Hansen’s oil painting To unge piger i et lysthus, executed in 1892, is part of the collection of Denmark’s Statens Museum for Kunst. The work presents a quiet interior scene centred on two adolescent girls seated within a modest gazebo, their figures rendered against a subdued, shadowed backdrop.
Subject & Meaning
The composition shows the girls in contrasting attire: the figure on the left wears a dark dress and has her hair tied back, while the companion on the right is dressed in a lighter hue with loose hair. Both gaze downward, suggesting a shared, private activity that invites contemplation rather than narrative drama.
Technique & Style
Hansen employs chiaroscuro to model the forms, allowing light to fall on the girls’ faces and clothing while the surrounding latticework recedes into darkness. This handling of light and shadow creates a sense of spatial depth and emphasizes the intimate atmosphere of the gazebo interior.
History & Provenance
Created toward the end of the 19th century, the painting entered the national collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst, where it remains on display. Its acquisition reflects the museum’s broader effort to preserve representative works of Danish genre painting from the period.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Peter Hansen painted everyday life in Denmark around 1900, often using oil to catch light on roads and squares.
Seppeleitä sitovia tyttöjä, harjoitelma
Evening in the Drawing Room. The Artist's Mother and Wife
In the Woods at Giverny: Blanche Hoschedé at Her Easel with Suzanne Hoschedé Reading
Evening in the Drawing Room. The Artist's Mother and Wife
Out into the World
Ranskalaisia silittäjiä
Milliners
Lydia Crocheting in the Garden at Marly