Harriet Backer (1845-1932). The music of color

WRITTEN IN FRENCH

Little known outside her country's borders, Harriet Backer (1845-1932) was nevertheless the most renowned female painter in Norway at the end of the 19th century. After training in Munich and Paris, drawing inspiration from the naturalist movement and the innovations of impressionism, this cosmopolitan artist was able to create a very personal work. Harriet Backer took over the private sphere and declined it throughout her career. Peasant interiors in Brittany and Norway, everyday rooms, the studio-salons of the Parisian homes of the artists in her Scandinavian network or typical Norwegian churches became her favourite motifs. Music also held an essential place in Backer's life, whose sister Agathe, a renowned composer, strongly influenced her work, as if the piano and the brush vibrated in unison, carried away in the same momentum. This first French monograph devoted to the artist sheds light on the special links maintained between Norwegian painters and the Parisian avant-gardes, highlights the trajectory of a determined woman and reveals her singular touch, both free and thoughtful, and her masterful use of color.

Exhibition Harriet Backer (1845-1932). The music of color at the musée d'Orsay from September 24th, 2024 to January 12th, 2025.

French
184 pages

Editions Flammarion