Harriet Backer - Blue Interior - Google Art Project

Harriet Backer (21 January 1845 – 25 March 1932) was a Norwegian

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

who achieved recognition in her own time and was a pioneer among female artists both in the

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...

and in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

generally. She is best known for her detailed interior scenes, communicated with rich colors and the interplay of light and shadow.

Biography

Backer was one of four daughters born to an affluent family at

Holmestrand is a town and municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Holmestrand. The town was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). ...

Vestfold Vestfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in Eastern Norway. In 2020 the county became part of the much larger county of Vestfold og Telemark. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it bordered th ...

, Norway. Her parents were Nils Backer (1815–1877) and Sofie Smith Petersen (1819–1882), and she was the aunt of the painter Astri Welhaven Heiberg (1881–1967). Her father was a shipping merchant and her mother was from a wealthy family. Her family moved to Christiania (Oslo) in 1856. She attended Wilhemine Autentrieth Girls' School (1857–1860) and

Hartvig Nissen School The Hartvig Nissen School ( no, Hartvig Nissens skole), informally referred to as Nissen, is a gymnasium in Oslo, Norway. It is located in the neighborhood Uranienborg in the affluent West End borough of Frogner. It is Norway's oldest high schoo ...

(1863). At 12, she first took lessons in

drawing Drawing is a form of visual art in which an artist uses instruments to mark paper or other two-dimensional surface. Drawing instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, various kinds of paints, inked brushes, colored pencils, crayons, ...

and

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

, notably with

Joachim Calmeyer Kåre Joachim Calmeyer (23 June 1931 – 26 December 2016) was a Norwegian actor. He was born in Oslo, and grew up in Horten and Tromsø. He was the brother of jazz musician Ola and journalist Bengt Calmeyer. He made his stage debut at Rogaland ...

(1857). She studied with art instructor

Johan Fredrik Eckersberg Johan Fredrik Eckersberg (16 June 1822 – 13 July 1870) was a Norwegian painter most noted for his landscapes. Eckersberg was a prominent figure in the transition from Romanticism to Realism in 19th-century Norwegian art, both as an artistic p ...

(1861–65), in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

with Alphons Holländer (1866–1867), with artist Christen Brun (1867–1868) and attended the painting school of

Knud Bergslien Knud Larsen Bergslien (15 May 1827 – 27 November 1908) was a Norwegian painter, art teacher and master artist. In his art, he frequently portrayed the lives of the Norwegian people, their history and heroes of the past. Bergslien is most associ ...

(1871–74). Later, she was a student of

Eilif Peterssen Hjalmar Eilif Emanuel Peterssen (4 September 1852 – 29 December 1928) was a Norwegian painter. He is most commonly associated with his landscapes and portraits. Biography Hjalmar Eilif Emanuel Peterssen was born in Christiania, now Osl ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

(1874–1878). She was a student of

Léon Bonnat Léon Joseph Florentin Bonnat (20 June 1833 – 8 September 1922) was a French painter, Grand Officer of the Légion d'honneur and professor at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. Early life Bonnat was born in Bayonne, but from 1846 to 1853 he lived in M ...

and

Jean-Léon Gérôme Jean-Léon Gérôme (11 May 1824 – 10 January 1904) was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as academicism. His paintings were so widely reproduced that he was "arguably the world's most famous living artist by 1880." The ran ...

in Paris (1878–1780). She also spent a summer in the town of

Rochefort-en-Terre Rochefort-en-Terre (; ) is a commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany in north-western France. Rochefort-en-Terre is a designated “Petite Cité de Caractère”. The medieval chateau located in the town was the home of American painter ...

Morbihan Morbihan ( , ; br, Mor-Bihan ) is a department in the administrative region of Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Morbihan (''small sea'' in Breton), the enclosed sea that is the principal feature of the coastli ...

painting with

Léon Germain Pelouse Léon Germain Pelouse (1 October 1838 – 31 July 1891) was a self-taught French painter born in Pierrelaye (Val-d'Oise, France). At sixteen, he began working as a traveling salesman. He began painting when he was twenty, as he was serving in ...

, whom she called "the most natural man I have ever met." Additionally, Backer traveled extensively as a companion to her sister, noted concert pianist

Agathe Backer Grøndahl Agathe Ursula Backer Grøndahl (1 December 1847 – 4 June 1907) was a Norwegian pianist and composer. Her son Fridtjof Backer-Grøndahl (1885–1959) was also a pianist and composer, who promoted his mother's compositions in his concerts. Biogr ...

(1847–1907), on her concert tours throughout Europe. She took further lessons in the course of these trips. From 1880 to 1888, she stayed in Paris where she shared a studio with fellow Norwegian artist, Kitty Lange Kielland. She was also associated with Salon Marie Trélat in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. In 1888, Backer moved back to Norway permanently and settled in Sandvika, outside of Christiania. From 1889 until 1912, she operated an art school and was an influence on a number of younger artists including

Marie Hauge Marie Octavia Nielsen Hauge (8 July 1864 – 11 November 1931) was a Norwegian painter. Biography Hauge was born at Drammen in Buskerud, Norway. She was the daughter of Hans Thulin Nielsen Hauge and Emilie Ziegler. She spent her later life at ...

Lars Jorde Lars Jorde (22 May 1865 – 25 September 1939) was a Norwegian painter and illustrator. Biography He was born at Vang in Hedmark, Norway. He entered the Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry in 1889. He studied under Gerhard Mun ...

and Henrik Lund. She also gave art lessons to the novelist

Cora Sandel Sara Cecilia Görvell Fabricius (20 December 1880 – 3 April 1974), better known by her pen name Cora Sandel, was a Norwegian writer and painter who lived most of her adult life abroad. Her best-known works are the novels now known as the ''Alb ...

. Backer produced just around 180 works of art mostly based upon local themes. Her work was both slow and thorough. In 1880, she debuted in Paris with the painting ''Solitude'', and in 1883 exhibited ''Blått interiør'' at the Autumn Exhibition in Oslo. She was influenced by

impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...

. She never belonged to any school but her work is often compared with that of her contemporary

(1852–1928). Backer worked in the tradition of

realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a move ...

in painting, where she is regarded as both a naturalist and an early Impressionist. Backer was awarded the Schäffers legat in 1878, 1879, and 1880. She won a silver medal at the

Exposition Universelle (1889) The Exposition Universelle of 1889 () was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 5 May to 31 October 1889. It was the fourth of eight expositions held in the city between 1855 and 1937. It attracted more than thirty-two million visitors. The ...

. Backer exhibited her work at the

Palace of Fine Arts The Palace of Fine Arts is a monumental structure located in the Marina District of San Francisco, California, originally constructed for the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition to exhibit works of art. Completely rebuilt from 1964 to ...

at the 1893

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordi ...

in Chicago, Illinois. From 1907 until his death in 1925, she received an annual private grant from wealthy industrialist and patron of the arts, Olaf Fredrik Schou (1861-1925). She received the King's Medal of Merit in Gold (''Kongens fortjenstmedalje i gull'') in 1908. In 1912, she was made a member of Nordlendingenes Forening and was awarded the Petter Dass Metal (''Petter Dass-medaljen''). In 1925, she was made a Knight 1st class in the Order of St. Olav. Backer died on 25 March 1932 and was buried at

Vår Frelsers gravlund The Cemetery of Our Saviour ( no, Vår Frelsers gravlund) is a cemetery in Oslo, Norway, located north of Hammersborg in Gamle Aker district. It is located adjacent to the older Old Aker Cemetery and was created in 1808 as a result of the great ...

in Oslo. Ada Madssen (1917–2009) designed a bronze statue of Harriet Backer and her sister Agathe Backer Grøndahl which was erected in 1982 in their hometown of Holmestrand. Several of the largest museums and art collections in Norway exhibit art by Backer, including the

National Museum A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater numb ...

in Oslo,

Bergen Museum The University Museum of Bergen ( no, Universitetsmuseet i Bergen) is a university museum in Bergen, Norway. The museum features material related to anthropology, archaeology, botany, geology, zoology, art, and cultural history. History The Univ ...

and Rasmus Meyers Collection at the Bergen Kunstmuseum in Bergen. Backer was included in the 2018 exhibit ''Women in Paris 1850-1900''.

Gallery

File:'Breton Interior' by Harriet Backer, 1882, Bergen Kunstmuseum.JPG, ''Breton Interior''
(1882) Image:Harriet Backer-På Bleikevollen.jpg, ''På blekevollen''
(1886–87) File:Backer Bygdeskomakere.JPG, ''Bygdeskomakere''
(1887) File:Backer-ChezMoi-detail.jpg, ''Chez Moi''
(1887) File:Harriet Backer-Kone som syr.jpg, ''Kone som syr''
(1890) Image:Harriet Backer - Christening in Tanum Church - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Barnedåp i Tanum kirke''
(1892) Image:Harriet Backer-Storebror spiller.jpg, ''Storebror spiller''
(1890) File:Harriet Backer-Ved lampelys.jpg, ''Ved lampelys''
(1890) File:Harriet Backer-Inngangskoner.jpg, ''Inngangskoner''
(1892)

References

External links

Harriet Backer collection at the National Museum (Oslo)

Other sources

* Brown, Randi (1988) "The Church Interiors of Harriet Backer" (1988) https://alliance-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/to8ro2/CP71154965950001451
Lange
Marit Ingeborg (1995) ''Harriet Backer'' (Oslo: Gyldendal norsk forlag) * Lange, Marit Ingeborg (1983) ''Harriet Backer, 1845-1932, Kitty L. Kielland, 1843-1914'' (Stiftelsen Modums blaafarveværk) * Kielland, Else Christie (1958) ''Harriet Backer, 1845-1932'' (Oslo: Aschehough) * Durban, Arne (1951) ''Paintings from Norway: Popular pictures by Harriet Backer, Frits Thaulo, Gerhard Munthe and Theodor Kittelsen'' (Forlaget Norsk Kunatreproduksjon) * Lone, Erling (1924) ''Harriet Backer: med en skildring av barndoms'' (Kristiania: Aschehoug) {{DEFAULTSORT:Backer, Harriet 1845 births 1932 deaths People from Holmestrand Artists from Bærum Realist artists Norwegian women painters 19th-century Norwegian painters 20th-century Norwegian painters 19th-century Norwegian women artists 20th-century Norwegian women artists Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal Recipients of the King's Medal of Merit in gold Burials at the Cemetery of Our Saviour

Biography

See also

Gallery

References

External links

Other sources