A Picture of Young Love

A young Agnes Slott-Møller posed for a previously unknown work by Harald Slott-Møller, now on view at The Hirschsprung Collection.

“This painting is nothing more than a young man’s loving tribute to his young wife.” This was how Harald Slott-Møller (1864–1937) described his 1888 painting Interior.

The work caused a scandal when it was exhibited in 1889. Although the woman depicted remained anonymous, the public could easily work out that she was the artist Agnes Slott-Møller (1862–1937).

Intimate indoor scenes of anonymous nude women washing—often known as toilettes—were a recurring subject among artists of early international Modernism. Even so, Harald Slott-Møller’s Interior was almost unprecedented for its time. The scene of the young woman washing was inspired by the artist’s honeymoon with Agnes Slott-Møller and revealed something intensely private.

The painting was shown at the Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition in 1889. The couple later sold it to the Copenhagen Art Association, which raffled it among its members in early 1890. The winner was none other than P.S. Krøyer, whose wife, Marie, was a close friend of Agnes and Harald Slott-Møller. Following Krøyer’s death, Interior passed into private ownership in 1910. After more than 135 years, it is once again on public view at The Hirschsprung Collection. Interior will now become one of the highlights of the museum’s collection.

The work was acquired with generous support from the New Carlsberg Foundation and the Danish Agency for Culture and Palaces.