Portrait of the artist´s wife: Marie Kröyer

Peder Severin Krøyer painted his wife Marie — herself a painter of considerable talent — on multiple occasions, and this 1901 portrait is one of the most tender and direct of these intimate images. The couple's marriage was eventually difficult, but in 1901 Krøyer's portrait captures Marie with a warmth and attentiveness that makes it among his finest works. Marie Krøyer's own artistic career was constrained by the social expectations placed on the wife of a famous painter; her husband's portraits of her inadvertently document this situation with unintentional poignancy. The work is at the Malmö Art Museum.

The portrait is painted with Krøyer's refined, light-filled touch. The warm palette of golden and creamy tones is characteristic of his intimate works. The face is rendered with great care and affection; the background is broadly handled to keep focus on the sitter. Brushwork is fluid and assured.