Musée d’Orsay showcases the work of pioneering Norwegian painter Harriet Backer.

From 24 September 2024 to 11 January 2025, the Musée d’Orsay presents the exhibition “Harriet Backer. Every Atom is Colour”

Source: The National Museum of Norway · Image: Harriet Backer, «Evening, Interior», 1896. Photo: Nasjonalmuseet / Børre Høstland

Harriet Backer (1845-1932) was a leading artist in her lifetime, occupying a central position in the Scandinavian art world, irrespective of gender. Every Atom is Colour will place Backer’s life and work in a time when society and women’s rights were undergoing radical change throughout Europe.

A prominent colourist with a feeling for light and atmosphere, she also established herself among artists abroad. The 15 years she spent in Munich and Paris were a turning point in her development. Arriving in Paris in 1878, she enrolled in Madame Trélat de Vigny’s atelier, where she met other women artists – including the Swedish painter Hildegard Thorell (1850-1930). Backer’s colleague and close friend from Münich, the Norwegian landscape painter Kitty Kielland (1843–1914), accompanied her to Paris where they shared an apartment in the city together for ten years.

Backer saw the male-dominated art world as a challenge, though she tended toward actions rather than words. In 1888, she established a renowned school for painters in Oslo, which she ran until 1909. Many significant artists such as Nikolai Astrup, Harald Sohlberg, Charlotte Wankel, Halfdan Egedius and Astrid Welhaven attended Backers school.

She also participated in the 1889 and 1900 Expositions Universelles, earning a silver medal in 1889 and through her positions on purchasing committees and exhibition juries, she played a substantial role in establishing equality and professionalism in the Norwegian art world which is still apparent today.