En akademirådsforsamling på Charlottenborg i 1904 1906 - 1908

Viggo Johansen painted this depiction of an assembly of the Academy Council at Charlottenborg in 1904, probably in oil on canvas. The dominant colours here are dark greens and browns, which might have been mixed together to then be lightly brushed, perhaps with some broad strokes, onto the canvas. I wonder about the light in this room and what the artist saw. The chandeliers are gorgeous but they give out a feeble glow that barely reaches the figures in the foreground. What I see is a group of men, maybe talking and maybe listening, and maybe that’s what Johansen saw, too. I can imagine him squinting, trying to find a light source, trying to bring this scene into focus. The thick paint, the smudges, the muted tones, all capture a sense of being present but not quite able to fully grasp what’s happening. What do you think?