The painting Still life in an interior, Copenhagen 1885, is a composition in two parts. In the foreground is a still life arrangement with onions, game birds, a rectangular basket and a large red tine, or Norwegian lidded tankard. In the background, a domestic setting with five people is illuminated by the light from a large window. Gauguin has created ambiguity in how this scene is presented to us. Looking closely, you can see a bright vertical frame behind the red tankard. It might be a doorframe, allowing a glimpse into the room beyond, but it may also be the frame of a mirror, reflecting back the silhouetted figures.
This work was likely painted in the reception room of Gauguin’s apartment in Copenhagen. He lived there with his wife Mette and five children from November 1884 to April 1885. The variety of indoor scenes that he painted during this time is testament to the cold temperature in Copenhagen. In addition, Gauguin’s command of Danish was poor and, as a consequence, meant he found hit hard to gain employment and remained largely housebound. It is possible that the figures in the background are Mette and her students, as she often taught French to diplomats from the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs to supplement the household income.
Gauguin signed this work on the flat decorative wallpaper on the right-hand side of the composition. The budding flowers in this area of the composition provide a contrast to the dead birds on the table. Perhaps the birds are Gauguin’s memento mori: the still-life genre in Northern Europe often used a visual device such as a skull to remind the viewer of the inevitability of death and the fleeting nature of earthly pleasures. In June 1885, Gauguin left Copenhagen to pursue his career as a full-time artist, and never again lived with his family.
