Støvkornenes dans i solstrålerne

The painting (oil on canvas, 70 x 59 cm) presents an empty room in Hammershøi's 17th-century apartment in the Christianshavn district of Copenhagen.

The bare panelled walls, without any furnishings or decorations, are illuminated by rays of winter sunlight shining through the window, a pattern of light and shade falling on the wooden floor.

The overall impression is that the painting portrays a dark, silent psychological space although in fact the room was located in a busy part of the city, close to the noise of docks and factories.

Indeed, the painting conveys the impression of a black and white photograph with all the intermediate greys while the dusty rays of sunlight give the room a highly poetic look.

As in the paintings of the Romantic period, the window can be seen as a symbol of longing and dreaming, connecting the room's interior with the world outside, juxtaposing near and far.