Harriet Backer, 1845-1932 : La Musique Des Couleurs

Exhibition at the Musée d'Orsay, Paris, 24 September 2024 - 12 January 2025

Little known outside her country, Harriet Backer (1845-1932) was nevertheless the most renowned female painter in Norway at the end of the XIXᵉ century. After training in Munich and Paris, and drawing her inspiration from the naturalist movement and the innovations of Impressionism, this cosmopolitan artist was able to create a highly personal body of work, seizing on the private sphere and declining it throughout her career.

Her favourite motifs were rural interiors in Brittany and Norway, everyday rooms, the living rooms and studios of the Parisian homes of the artists in her Scandinavian network, and typical Norwegian churches. Music also played an essential role in the life of Harriet Backer, whose sister Agathe, a renowned composer, greatly influenced her work.

Both an exhibition catalogue and the very first French monograph devoted to the artist, this book sheds light on the special links between Norwegian painters and the Parisian avant-gardes, highlights the career of a strong-willed woman and reveals her singular touch, both free and thoughtful, and her masterful use of colour.