Christmas Eve (study)

Viggo Johansen

Painted

1891

Collection

Private collection

A study for Christmas Eve, the Danish painter's 1891 picture of his own family, whose finished version is in the Hirschsprung Collection in Copenhagen. Adults and children join hands and dance around a tall candlelit tree, and loose brushwork lets the glow of the candles warm the dim room. Johansen bought one of the largest trees in the city that year and kept it in the room for four months, tying on fresh branches as the needles fell.

Object record (Wikimedia Commons) · Public domain

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