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Playing Children, Enghave Square by Peter Hansen

Peter Hansen · 1907-01-01

Peter Hansen's "Playing Children, Enghave Square" (1907) is a dazzling display of impressionistic technique at the Statens Museum for Kunst. The painting captures a moment of pure childhood energy, but the true magic lies in how Hansen conjures a sun-drenched afternoon from oil paint alone.

Notice the way light filters through the leaves of the trees, creating dappled patterns on the ground and children. Hansen uses long, sharp shadows to give the scene depth and to define the architecture of the buildings. He makes the light look real, almost warm to the touch.

Hansen painted this in 1907, documenting life in Copenhagen's Enghave Plads. The museum acquired it as an example of Danish urban life painting. It remains a testament to the artist's skill with brush and pigment.

It is a lively scene, made luminous by paint.

Details

Sunlight dapples through the leaves overhead.
Sunlight dapples through the leaves overhead.
See how the light models the children's faces?
See how the light models the children's faces?
Shadows stretch long on the warm pavement.
Shadows stretch long on the warm pavement.
This is oil paint, not a photograph.
This is oil paint, not a photograph.
Hansen uses shadow to define the brick wall.
Hansen uses shadow to define the brick wall.
Transcript

Look at the light pouring into this square. Sunlight dapples through the leaves overhead. See how the light models the children's faces? Shadows stretch long on the warm pavement. This is oil paint, not a photograph. Hansen uses shadow to define the brick wall. The effect is a bright, active, summer day.