Vilhelm Lundstrøm’s works are like a quiet conversation with time. They bring balance, colour, and calm to your walls – and tell the story of an artist who broke boundaries and forged something new.
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A Humble Childhood
Vilhelm Henry Lundstrøm was born on 26 May 1893 on the island of Amager in Copenhagen, where he grew up in a modest working-class family. His father, Rasmus Lundstrøm, was a tradesman, and his mother, Emma Sofie, took care of the home and children. The family lived a simple yet cultured life. They visited museums in Copenhagen and listened to classical music – early influences that would shape Lundstrøm’s artistic sensibility.
Even as a child, Vilhelm showed a strong interest in drawing. With pencil and paper, he began to depict the rural surroundings of Amager, capturing the small everyday details that caught his eye. He found joy in forms – a still life with a jug, an orange in a windowsill – the very motifs that would later become his artistic signature.
At the age of 15, Lundstrøm began an apprenticeship as a painter and continued his studies at the Technical School in Copenhagen. There, he gained a solid foundation in craftsmanship, and his drawing skills quickly impressed his teachers. But it wasn’t enough. His ambitions reached further, and in 1913, at the age of 20, he was accepted into the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts.
Inspired by Cubism – Paris and the New Art
Lundstrøm’s time at the Academy was brief. In 1915, he left without completing his studies. He felt a deep urge to find his own path and escape the grip of old traditions. In 1919, he travelled to Paris, where he encountered the groundbreaking artistic movement of the time: cubism.
In Paris, he was inspired by artists such as Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso, and Paul Cézanne. It was there he found his artistic voice – a simplicity of lines and planes that removed all that was unnecessary.
“Seated Female Model 1950” is a work where Lundstrøm’s cubist inspiration shines through. The woman’s figure is reduced to pure forms, yet the painting radiates a calm and harmony that only Lundstrøm could create.
Portraits That Tell a Story
During the 1920s, Lundstrøm began painting the portraits that would become a central part of his body of work. He surrounded himself with contemporary artists, writers, and bohemians – many of whom became his models. One such figure was the poet Emil Bønnelycke, a prominent modernist of the era. In "Portrait of Emil Bønnelycke", we witness Lundstrøm’s unique ability to simplify without losing personality. The portrait is both sharp and poetic – much like the poet’s own words.
At the same time, Lundstrøm created works like "Portrait of Hanne", which captures a woman with warmth and presence, yet expressed through a simplified visual language. Hanne Wilhelm Hansen was not only a model but also Lundstrøm’s wife and muse – a woman whose calm expression and defined contours became a recurring motif in his art. She came to represent the human form, which Lundstrøm depicted with an almost sculptural clarity.
But why this fascination with simplified portraits? For Lundstrøm, the human being was part of the same harmony he saw in objects. A face could be portrayed with just as few elements as a jug on a table. It was about cutting to the core – finding the essence.
Lundstrøm’s Cubist Modernism
When you walk into the living room and see Lundstrøm’s works hanging above the sofa, you feel something special. As if time has folded in on itself, and the golden age of modernism comes alive between the walls. There’s a simplicity and calm to the images – the forms, colours, and composition speak together like a quiet choir. Each brushstroke carries a story, but also a sense of timelessness that lifts the space and invites reflection.
Everyday Motifs in a New Light
When Vilhelm Lundstrøm returned from Paris in the 1920s, he had truly begun to find his voice as an artist. He had seen how cubism could distil the world into a new aesthetic. But he had also found his own perspective: the beauty in the ordinary.
Back in Denmark, Lundstrøm joined the ranks of the country’s modernists and began creating his iconic still lifes. His works were met with both enthusiasm and resistance. Everyday objects – a jug, an orange, a towel – were transformed into something sculptural and nearly monumental. Critics thought it too simple. But Lundstrøm had seen something they hadn’t:
“Beauty doesn’t lie in the details. It’s found in the form and the balance.”
This philosophy shines through in works like "Still Life with Jug and Orange", where the objects stand as a perfect composition, with nothing superfluous. The same is true of "Watering Can, Towel and Jars", which almost reads like a meditation on the aesthetics of everyday life.
For Lundstrøm, art wasn’t only about grand narratives. It could just as easily be found in what we see every day – if only we looked closely enough.
The Self-Portrait and the Journey Home
Lundstrøm wasn’t the kind of artist who sought the spotlight – but in "Self-Portrait 1927", we see him as he wished to be seen: uncompromising, focused, and modern. The portrait is both a declaration and a quiet statement. He uses the same techniques applied to his models and still lifes, creating an image that is both raw and refined.
A notable detail in the piece is his right arm, faintly outlined with a brush, as he dips it into a palette held in his left hand. It creates an almost ghostlike sensation, as though the arm is beginning to dissolve into the painting itself. Perhaps this was Lundstrøm’s way of hinting that the artist and the artwork are inseparable – that his identity couldn’t exist without his art.
After his years in France, Lundstrøm returned to Denmark with fresh inspiration and confidence. He became a central figure in the Danish art scene and a leading member of the group “De Fire” (The Four), alongside fellow artists Karl Larsen, Axel Salto, and Svend Johansen. Together, they envisioned a renewal of art, bringing it closer to modern life.
By the 1930s, Lundstrøm began receiving wider recognition. He became a trendsetter and a source of inspiration for a new generation of artists. His works were acquired by museums and collectors, and he earned a reputation as an artist who could balance the ordinary with the iconic.
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Living room, bedroom, hallway, or kitchen – Lundstrøm’s classics look good anywhere
From Still Lifes to Figures
In the 1940s, Lundstrøm began working more intensely with the human figure. Works such as "Seated Female Model 1940" and "Female Model 1930" reflect his interest in the form of the body. The women in his paintings are both sculptural and serene, rendered with the same simplicity he brought to his still lifes.
It wasn’t a coincidence. Lundstrøm saw the human body as part of the same universal harmony – a natural extension of his still life studies. The figure became a simplified form, yet one that retained a sense of life and presence.
His "Two Standing Models" is an example of this approach. Two women stand side by side, their shapes almost graphic. The lines are sharp, the colours simple, and the result is a sense of balance and strength.
An Artistic Legacy That Lives On
Vilhelm Lundstrøm died in 1950, but his art lives on as a reminder that beauty lies in simplicity. His still lifes, portraits, and figures are a tribute to the clarity of form and the power of colour.
He broke away from tradition, created his own style, and left behind a legacy that continues to inspire. When you choose a Lundstrøm poster, you bring more than just art into your home – you bring a part of a story that began in a humble home on Amager and ended as a revolution in Danish art.
Discover the world of Vilhelm Lundstrøm today – and let his timeless aesthetic find a place in your home.
