The Buildings of the Asiatic Company, seen from St. Annæ Street, Copenhagen

Hammershøi found this scene near his home on Christianshavn. From the St Annæ Street he looked out towards the Asiatic Company buildings (now the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) onwards to Copenhagen proper. However, the painting shows us nothing through the gateway between the two buildings. In fact it is very rare to see fogs so dense that the other side of the harbour is blocked from view, so the choice was very deliberate on the artist’s part. Thus, he made an oppressive absence the central theme of the painting. Between the buildings are suggestions of ship’s masts which might – and might not – be intended for inclusion in the painting. Hammershøi left several paintings seemingly unfinished, presumably because he believed they would not profit from being completed.