Updated November 2026 · ranked by our popularity score (searches, visits and orders for each work) · 26 works by Viggo Johansen in our catalogue
In short
To the gallery's eye, Viggo Johansen's most famous painting is Moder og søn. Interiør fra et fiskerhus (1879), whose original hangs in the Statens Museum For Kunst, Copenhagen. Før sol går ned. Dragør. Koner, en lille pige og gæs ved stranden (1884) and I køkkenet. Tante Nanna skræller kartofler (1884) complete the trio every eye recognises. Of the 26 works by Viggo Johansen in our catalog, the gallery presents the 26 most famous below, each original with its year, its museum and what makes it unique.
The oil on canvas work titled Moder og søn. Interiør fra et fiskerhus was executed by the Danish artist Viggo Johansen. This specific piece dates to 1879. It is currently held within the SMK Open collection.
Før sol går ned. Dragør. Koner, en lille pige og gæs ved stranden by Viggo Johansen depicts a specific moment at the fishing port of Dragør, located outside Copenhagen, Denmark. Created about 1884, the work captures a group of figures positioned along a shoreline. The scene includes several women dressed in long, dark, traditional-style garments, a young girl, and a group of geese scattered across the grassy bank and the…
In the painting I køkkenet. Tante Nanna skræller kartofler by Viggo Johansen, the composition centers on a quiet, intimate, and somber realist scene of daily labor. A woman is positioned slightly to the left of center, shown in profile as she stands at a kitchen table. The arrangement of the figure against the domestic setting focuses the viewer's attention on the repetitive motion of her task. Light enters the room…
In "A Dead Girl" by Viggo Johansen, a deceased young child lies in repose. The composition is intimate and focused, drawing the eye toward the stillness of the subject. A close-up perspective centers the child against a dark, indistinct background. This void of shadow pushes the figure forward, making the small, quiet form the only reality in the frame. The work, painted about 1881, captures a moment of absolute fragility.
Viggo Johansen painted Joyful Christmas in 1891. This oil painting depicts a scene of domestic family life within an interior setting. The composition focuses on a group of figures gathered in a living room located on Amaliegade in Copenhagen. The work captures a specific moment of familial gathering around a central point of light.
In this somber monochrome work from 1892, we find ourselves in a space of profound quietude. The composition draws us into an intimate, elevated view of a deceased figure resting in bed. There is a heavy, atmospheric quality to the scene, achieved through a strictly grayscale palette that moves from the deepest blacks to the brightest whites. The subject, a mother, is rendered with a sense of stillness that feels…
Evening talk is an oil on canvas painting by the Danish artist Viggo Johansen, created about 1886. The work depicts a group of men and women gathered in a dimly lit interior. These figures are positioned around a table, appearing engaged in conversation or quiet contemplation. The scene captures a specific moment of social interaction within a private, enclosed space.
In "Sunlight in the Dining-room" by Viggo Johansen, a quiet moment of domestic life is caught within a sunlit interior. The scene is viewed from a straight-on perspective, looking directly into a room where a woman is engaged in a task at a table. A round dining table, draped in a white cloth, sits slightly off-center. This placement allows the eye to follow the path of light entering from a…
An evening with visiting friends is a work by Viggo Johansen, a painter who was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1851. This particular piece dates to about 1897, a period when the artist was refining his unique approach to light and domesticity. Johansen lived until 1935, leaving behind a body of work that captures the quiet nuances of Scandinavian life.
In this intimate oil on canvas from 1893, we find ourselves drawn into a private, dimly lit room where the rush of the outside world seems to have ceased. The scene captures a tender, quiet moment of shared learning between a woman and a child. They are seated together, framed by the heavy textures of a wooden cabinet and a small framed work on the wall, creating a sense of…
An Evening Party in the Artist's Home1899 · Statens Museum For Kunst
12
Self-Portrait1902 · Statens Museum For Kunst
13
Helga Johansen, kunstnerens søster1883 · Statens Museum For Kunst
14
Portræt af fru Bella Philipsen, f. Natanson1905 · Statens Museum For Kunst
15
An Artist's Gathering1903 · Nationalmuseum
16
En akademirådsforsamling på Charlottenborg i 19041907 · Statens Museum For Kunst
17
Nanna og hendes moder1897 · Statens Museum For Kunst
18
Konfirmations-søndag. Dragør1878 · Statens Museum For Kunst
19
Near Skagen østerby after a Storm1885 · Skagens Museum
20
The Mill1891 · Nationalmuseum
21
Gæs ved en sø. Mod uroligt vejr. Dragør1897 · Statens Museum For Kunst
22
Geese by a Lake. A Storm is Brewing. Dragør, the Island of Amager1893 · Statens Museum For Kunst
23
A Cowshed1894 · Statens Museum For Kunst
24
Måneopgang ved Tyresjö i Sverige1905 · Statens Museum For Kunst
25
Interior with a dead swan1910 · Randers Kunstmuseum
26
By the piano. The artistSkagens Museum
The four subjects that come back most often in these originals, each with its finest example.
The 6 museums that hold the most of the paintings on this page.
| Museum | City | Works by Viggo Johansen | Paintings from this list |
|---|---|---|---|
 Statens Museum For Kunst |
Copenhagen | 17 | Moder og søn. Interiør fra et fiskerhus, Før sol går ned. Dragør. Koner, en lille pige og gæs ved stranden, I køkkenet. Tante Nanna skræller kartofler |
 Nationalmuseum |
Stockholm | 4 | A Dead Girl, Sunlight in the Dining-room, An Artist's Gathering |
 Skagens Museum |
Skagen | 2 | Near Skagen østerby after a Storm, By the piano. The artist |
 Hirschsprung Collection |
Copenhagen | 1 | Joyful Christmas |
 Bavarian State Painting Collections |
Munich | 1 | An evening with visiting friends |
 Randers Kunstmuseum |
Randers | 1 | Interior with a dead swan |
Pick a decade to see the original that defines it.
The oil on canvas work titled Moder og søn. Interiør fra et fiskerhus was executed by the Danish artist Viggo Johansen. This specific piece dates to 1879. It is currently held within the SMK Open collection.
Før sol går ned. Dragør. Koner, en lille pige og gæs ved stranden by Viggo Johansen depicts a specific moment at the fishing port of Dragør, located outside Copenhagen, Denmark. Created about 1884, the work captures a group of figures positioned along a shoreline. The scene includes several women dressed in long, dark, traditional-style garments, a young girl, and a group of geese scattered across the grassy bank and the…
Viggo Johansen painted Joyful Christmas in 1891. This oil painting depicts a scene of domestic family life within an interior setting. The composition focuses on a group of figures gathered in a living room located on Amaliegade in Copenhagen. The work captures a specific moment of familial gathering around a central point of light.
A middle-aged man emerges from a deep, indistinct background, his presence defined by a dramatic play of light and shadow. Positioned slightly off-center, the figure is captured from the waist up, wearing a dark formal suit, waistcoat, and tie. The composition focuses on the subject's contemplative expression, marked by a receding hairline and a full, greyish beard. Light falls sharply across one side of the face and forehead, a technique…
Moder og søn. Interiør fra et fiskerhus (1879), Statens Museum For Kunst, Copenhagen. Før sol går ned. Dragør. Koner, en lille pige og gæs ved stranden (1884) and I køkkenet. Tante Nanna skræller kartofler (1884) come next.
28 years old: Moder og søn. Interiør fra et fiskerhus dates from 1879, and Viggo Johansen was born in 1851.
Moder og søn. Interiør fra et fiskerhus, Før sol går ned. Dragør. Koner, en lille pige og gæs ved stranden, I køkkenet. Tante Nanna skræller kartofler, A Dead Girl, Joyful Christmas, Kunstnerens døde moder, Evening talk, Sunlight in the Dining-room, An evening with visiting friends and Moder skal læse. Kunstnerens hustru og barn. The ranking above gives each one's year and museum.
Our catalog holds 26 works by Viggo Johansen, dated from 1878 to 1910.
Mostly in Statens Museum For Kunst (Copenhagen), Nationalmuseum (Stockholm) and Skagens Museum (Skagen). The museum table above lists them all.
In 1890s: 10 of the 26 works on this page were made then, Joyful Christmas among them.
On this page, the earliest is Konfirmations-søndag. Dragør (1878) and the latest Interior with a dead swan (1910).
Woman (9), Table (7) and Interior (6), across the 26 works on this page.
Oil On Canvas, for 15 of the 26 works on this page.
Impressionism, judging by the originals on this page.
Moder og søn. Interiør fra et fiskerhus, Før sol går ned. Dragør. Koner, en lille pige og gæs ved stranden and I køkkenet. Tante Nanna skræller kartofler: the Statens Museum For Kunst, Copenhagen holds 17 of the works on this page.
In the quiet, amber-lit corners of a Danish home, where the soft glow of a single lamp dances upon a family gathered in repose, one finds the true heart of Viggo Johansen’s artistry. Born in Copenhagen in 1851, Johansen emerged not merely as a painter of scenes, but as a poet of atmosphere. While many of his contemporaries sought the grand, sweeping dramas of history or the stark realities of social upheaval, Johansen turned his gaze inward, capturing the profound beauty found within the mundane. He was a master of mood, an artist capable of distilling the ephemeral essence of a moment—the warmth of a domestic ritual, the stillness of a winter afternoon, or the gentle light filtering through a window—into a visual symphony of emotion and light.
His journey began with the precocious recognition of his talent by the esteemed Wilhelm Marstrand, a mentor who saw in the young boy a rare gift for drawing. This early spark led him to the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, where he immersed himself in the rigorous study of figure painting. Although his academic path was marked by the challenges of formal examinations, his spirit remained unconfined by institutional boundaries. By the mid-1s70s, drawn by the invitation of Michael Ancher, Johansen found his way to the rugged, windswept shores of Skagen. It was here, among the legendary Skagen Painters, that his identity as a premier Scandinavian Impressionist truly crystallized. Alongside luminaries like Peder Severin Krøyer and Anna Ancher, he participated in a summer tradition that would redefine Danish art, finding inspiration in the unique light of the Jutland peninsula.
The evolution of Johansen’s style is a fascinating study in the dialogue between Northern realism and French Impressionism. In his early years at Hornbæk, his work possessed a grounded, naturalistic quality, focusing on the tangible textures of coastal life. However, his travels to Paris in the 1880s acted as a transformative catalyst. Encountering the revolutionary techniques of Claude Monet, Johansen began to experiment with color and light in ways that breathed new life into his canvases. He did not merely copy the French masters; rather, he synthesized their luminous approach with a distinctly Scandinavian sensibility. In masterpieces such as Christian Bindslev er syg (1890), one can witness this breathtaking fusion, where the fleeting effects of atmosphere are captured with a delicate, almost ethereal touch.
As his career matured, Johansen’s palette underwent a deliberate and poetic shift. Moving away from the heavier, darker tones that characterized much of the era's realism, he embraced softer, more harmonious hues. This transition reflected a deeper philosophical pursuit: a desire to convey a sense of peace and contemplative grace. His later works often feature his wife, Martha, and their children, transforming domestic interiors into sacred spaces of quiet intimacy. Through these paintings, he achieved something rare—the ability to make the private lives of ordinary people feel monumental and timeless.
The significance of Viggo Johansen extends far beyond the borders of Denmark. He was a bridge between the traditions of the Danish Golden Age and the burgeoning modernism of the late 19th century. His ability to balance the structural integrity of classical figure painting with the sensory freedom of Impressionism earned him immense international acclaim. His accolades were numerous and prestigious, including:
Ultimately, Johansen’s legacy is defined by his profound empathy. He possessed the rare ability to look at a simple domestic scene and reveal the universal human experience within it. Whether painting the expansive, luminous landscapes of Skagen or the hushed shadows of a nursery, he remained a steadfast chronicler of the soul's quietest moments. Today, he is remembered not just as a member of a famous collective, but as a singular visionary who taught us that there is an infinite depth of beauty to be found in the stillness of everyday life.
