Lot Essay
Martinus Rørbye was known for his incessant travel; his 'wanderlust' would take him farther afield than any other painter of the Golden Age. He was, however, essentially a painter of genre and architecture, developing a sober and realistic attitude to these subjects from his teacher, C. W. Eckersberg.
The present work was painted in the beginning of his career when Rørbye was still living with his mother and four sisters in their family home in Amaliegade. Ida Athelie Rørbye, later West (1806/7-1838), sits in the corner of their sitting room with her red shawl over a Klismos chair, nursing her plants. Rørbye is sympathetic to this familiar subject, capturing the flower pots, jars, vases and glass with as much detail as Ida herself.
The present work was painted in the beginning of his career when Rørbye was still living with his mother and four sisters in their family home in Amaliegade. Ida Athelie Rørbye, later West (1806/7-1838), sits in the corner of their sitting room with her red shawl over a Klismos chair, nursing her plants. Rørbye is sympathetic to this familiar subject, capturing the flower pots, jars, vases and glass with as much detail as Ida herself.