A number of figures sit in a dark room, waiting. Destitute and malnourished, none of them conform to current beauty ideals. But this is no ordinary waiting room: the figure in the doorway was originally not a doctor, but a skeleton. Slott-Møller wished to illustrate the saying “Death is the poor man’s only physician”, the enclosed space symbolising the limited options of the poor.
The painting was a contribution to the ongoing discussion about social injustice in the overcrowded city of Copenhagen. The painting was harshly criticised when exhibited in 1888. Conservative critics attacked the social message, but the skeleton in particular caused consternation. The figure has since darkened – or may even have been painted over by the artist. But you can still dimly see its contours in the doorway.
