Harriet Backer

Vibeke Waallann Hansen:
She was one of the most important Norwegian artists of her generation.

Narrator:
National Museum curator Vibeke Waallann Hansen is talking about Harriet Backer. Backer was known as “the painter of Nordic interiors” and is one of only three artists to have her own room at the museum. Backer was born in Holmestrand, 70km south of Oslo, in 1845. Although women were mostly excluded from Europe’s art academies in the nineteenth century, it was possible for them to study privately. As an obviously talented painter, Backer had the support of her family and other well-wishers and was able to follow her dream. In 1874, at the age of 29, she travelled to Munich.

Vibeke Waallann Hansen:
Many other Nordic artists had travelled there too, so there was a large community of Nordic artists. By taking private lessons, Backer learned how to paint in the academic style, bringing out all the nuances of the materials included in a composition – fur, porcelain, books or leather, for example – in meticulous detail.

Narrator:
This style is apparent in The Farewell, which Backer painted in Munich. But what we are now going to examine in detail, is how Backer moves on from depicting this wealth of realistic detail and decides to use her paintings to explore light.

Vibeke Waallann Hansen:
Later on, Harriet Backer would become very interested in light and the effects of light within an interior, and how light creates a sense of depth and colour definition within a space. But this interest isn’t present in these early pictures. In The Farewell for example, there’s a single light source emanating from where we’re standing. So this is the major difference, or contrast, to her later works.

Narrator:
This big change occurred after Backer moved to Paris in 1878. That was where she got to know about Impressionism and modern French painting.

Vibeke Waallann Hansen:
And the way she paints then is impressionistic and quite different from what she learned while she was in Munich. And part of this was about painting directly onto the canvas, without the necessity of mixing colours on the palette. Painters could work directly on the canvas and put green, red, blue and black against each other, and in doing so achieve heightened effects of colour and light. Blue Interior is one of Backer’s most famous works. And it’s the first work she exhibited in which it’s really clear how she’s moved on from many of the methods she learned in Munich. Of course she took this knowledge with her, but in Paris she learned about a completely different aesthetic.

Narrator:
An even clearer example of Harriet Backer’s new style is The Holy Communion celebrated in Stange Church, which she painted in 1903.

Vibeke Waallann Hansen:
And in The Holy Communion celebrated in Stange Church, we see this light coming in from the side window and also from the windows at the end of the room. We see the green foliage outdoors and how the green is reflected onto the window surrounds and the walls. It’s as if the light is being recreated and reflected throughout the entire space.