Elisabeth Fearnley

The Fearnley family was among the wealthiest in Norway during Asta Nørregaard's time.  

Here, we see a portrait of Elisabeth Fearnley, wife of Thomas Fearnley, the son of the famous landscape painter of the same name. 

In this portrait, she sits calmly, looking straight at us, dressed in a magnificent black dress that emphasizes both elegance and status.  

Around her, Nørregaard has placed items that give the portrait depth and suggest aspects of her personality and life. 

On her right forearm, she wears a snake-shaped bracelet – a piece of jewellery that can be interpreted as a symbol of strength, wisdom or temptation, and which was popular in fashion at the time. 

At her feet there is a polar bear skin, which suggests the wild and untamed.  

It may also be an allusion to the polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen, who at that time was Norway's biggest celebrity and a close friend of the family. Perhaps the polar bear skin was a gift from him to her husband who was an avid hunter…? 

The spring lilacs in the vase speak of vulnerability and beauty.  

The East Asian screen in the background – or perhaps it’s a silk wallpaper? – tells us that she surrounded herself with the latest in interior design. 

All of this makes the portrait more than a representation of appearance; it becomes a story of status, taste, and the ideals of the time.