Interior with Young Woman Seen from the Back

It uses the muted grey-blue palette, uncluttered composition and detailed attention to the play of light typical of Hammershøi's work.

Palin admits that this is only conjecture, but is fascinated by the feeling of secrecy produced by presenting subjects with their back to the viewer.

[3] Felix Krämer, writing when the Kunsthalle Hamburg held the first German Hammershøi retrospective in 2003, felt that the recurrent back-to-the-viewer theme provoked "a feeling of aloofness" in the viewer.

The effect is achieved with strong brush-strokes which provide a balancing contrast with the blue and white tureen in the left half of the picture.

It serves to concentrate the viewer's attention on the pretty nape of her neck, highlighted between the demure black dress and the simple tight braid of her hair.