In the Studio

In this painting In the Studio, we see Asta Nørregaard, who has painted herself in her studio in Paris. She’s working on one of the first major public commissions given to a female artist in Norway - the altarpiece for Gjøvik Church.

The motif shows the massive canvas with the figure of Christ, surrounded by many female figures, stretching from floor to ceiling. 

The ladder that protrudes behind the canvas emphasizes the large format and the demanding work. 

Nørregaard seems almost small as she stands with a large palette on her arm, facing the painting.

When Asta Nørregaard turned 30 in 1883, she had already achieved a significant art education from Christiania, Munich and Paris.

She had also been accepted to the prestigious art salon in Paris and established herself as an artist there.

In addition, she had exhibited in Norway and received good reviews.

She had also previously shown the ability to master religious representation with many people in the painting Waiting for Christ. 

And, in 1881, Waiting for Christ was shown at the annual Salon in Paris, and again shortly afterwards in Kunstforening in Christiania. 

It was this painting that led to the prestigious commission for Gjøvik Church.

Here, she was faced with a major task, and she documents it in this self-portrait.

The work is a staging that sheds light on Nørregaard as an artist and her career. 

She goes from being an anonymous model - sitting as a body double for Harriet Backer's breakthrough painting Blue Interior - to taking the stage herself.

The painting has become an icon for the lives and conditions of female artists towards the end of the 19th century.