Interior painting—the representation of indoor spaces in Fine Art—has been popular since the 17th century and is regarded as an independent genre in art history. Especially in Northern and Central Europe, but especially in the Netherlands, the interior—in addition to genre painting—has always been much favoured. Unprecedented representations of interiors of this period include the paintings of Jan Vermeer who loved depicting individuals in their private homes.
In the following centuries, the style of representation changed somewhat, from representative spatial representations for the purpose of demonstrating wealth, culture and power to deserted private spaces in the paintings of the Impressionist artists, which allow the viewer to enter into a certain private sphere.
Today, contemporary artists draw on the many facets of interior painting and present a broad spectrum: an intimate insight into a sunlit bedroom by Norbert Tadeusz, the expansive interior by Susanne Kühn, which beckons one to enter, the detail of a curtain and its reflection on the floor by Karin Kneffel, the pieces of furniture and objects in Chris Reinecke's drawing, which are scattered all over the work in a room without perspective, but still have a rigid order, or one of the few interior images by Stefan Kürten, who is rather known for his depictions of exteriors and cleverly combines both.
The medium of photography has also appropriated the representation of interiors, giving us insights into studios with or without artists. Lucien Clergue for example took pictures of Pablo Picasso in his home in the 1950s and 1960s and the icon Marilyn Monroe was photographed by Lawrence Schiller, in a private moment, lying lasciviously on her sofa whilst being served dinner.
Beck & Eggeling is happy to present these and many more exciting insights in their current show COME IN! With works by Lucien Clergue, Andrea C. Hoffer, Thomas Huber, Karin Kneffel, Susanne Kühn, Stefan Kürten, August Macke, Victor Mira, Hartmut Neumann, Heribert C. Ottersbach, Chris Reinecke, Lawrence Schiller, Norbert Tadeusz, Stefan à Wengen and Thomas Wrede.
Founded in 1994 by Dr Ute Eggeling and Michael Beck—both from art history and gallery backgrounds—Beck & Eggeling International Fine Art is a leading international gallery. Based in Düsseldorf, it specialises in exhibiting art by European masters of the 19th and 20th centuries, embracing Impressionism, Expressionism, and post-War Modernism, as well as working to foster international contemporary art.
