Kvinna sedd bakifrån by Jesper Wung-Sung (Woman Seen From the Back)

In his book, Kvinna sedd bakifrån (Woman Seen From the Back) Jesper Wung-Sung has written a historical fiction about Ida Ilsted, wife of Danish painter Wilhelm Hammershøi. Wung-Sung’s writing is like Hammershøi’s painting; simplistic and stripped down to the basic minimalistic surrounding, which fits very well into the life of Ida.

Ida meets Wilhelm through her artist brother Peter. They become good friends and Ida is quite surprised when Wilhelm proposes to her. Ida’s life at home is troublesome with a mentally unstable mother who has not much love for her daughter, and cannot imagine why anybody would like to marry her. Wilhelm comes from an upper class home and is worshipped by his mother, who thinks nobody good enough for her son. It does not seem like a good start for their marriage.

Wilhelm is a very secluded person, only happy when he is painting. Ida is also a secluded person although a bit more social than her husband. She is very supportive of his art although not knowing anything about it, which is something that troubles her through her life. A sense of shortcomings when it comes to the art world. They travel a lot, although, unlike other artists who are inspired by the light and sights of Italy and France, Wilhelm looks for dark, small interior places to paint. The various experiences help him develop into the interior and portrait painter he is famous for. And above all, he paints Ida.

Ida has to adapt to the work of her husband. She has obviously not put a mark in life, except for being the model of many of Wilhelm’s works. When I read a historical fiction I like to check out real life events. She is as anonymous in real life as she is in the paintings. The only mentioning of her is through her husband, as a model in his paintings.

Ida’s story is probably the story of many wives of famous men, who support and work silently and quietly in the background. Her story grippes you, even if it is more out of sadness than out of joy. I particularly liked the author’s style in visualising Ida’s life as a reflection of Wilhelm’s paintings. If there is one comfort in all this, it is that they both loved and needed each other. At least according to the author.

A carefully and lovingly told historical account on a woman who gave so much to art, but remained unknown. You can almost say she sacrificed her life for the love of a man and his art. In an interview the author said that he thinks she was the reason that Hammershøi's art developed and changed to the better after he met her. Hammershøi's paintings did not sell well during his life time, but his art has been re-viewed in recent years. One of his paintings, with Ida seen from the back, was sold some years ago for around 3,5 million euros.