English: Born on the island of Falster, Denmark in 1861, Peter Ilsted attended the Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen, and he later received the Gold Medal in 1890 for Cupid and Psyche from the Academy at Charlottenborg (the equivalent of the Royal Academy). Best known for his scenes of domestic interiors, Ilsted belongs to a group of Danish artists who specialized in this genre. Like his contemporaries Carl Holsoe and Vilhelm Hammershøi, Peter Ilsted here depicts a solitary figure in an austere room, accented only by a few delicately painted objects. His bare interiors are suffused with the warm glow of light through a single window, clearly showing the influence of Vermeer on the artist, as well as that of his brother-in-law, Hammershøi. However, Ilsted’s paintings are more colorful and charming than those of Hammershøi. His art expresses the essence of middle class life in Denmark at the turn of the twentieth century: tranquility and orderliness, contentment with home and family and the isolation from the political and social turmoil in the countries to the south. •Hirschl & Adler Galleries•