Christening in Tanum Church by Harriet Backer: Perspective and Contrasts | Artworks Explained

After two years of tireless work, Harriet Backer put her signature under the painting "Baptism in Tanum" in 1892. Today the painting is considered her masterpiece. The composition is highly original: the viewer stands in the church with his back to the altar and looks out. The perspective effect is amazing: from the dark interior, the eye is immediately drawn to the background, where the actual action takes place.
➡️ Discover more masterworks: bit.ly/Masterworks-Explained
Harriet Backer (1845-1932) was a Norwegian painter and is considered a pioneer among female artists in Scandinavia and Europe. At the age of 12, she moved with her family to Christiania (now Oslo). She learned drawing and painting from Jacob Calmeyer and Johan Fredrik Eckersberg. She travelled extensively through Europe with her sister, the pianist Agathe Backer Grøndahl, and studied in Paris and Munich. She was strongly influenced by Impressionism, although her artistic work is more characterised by Realism. However, she did not belong to any school of painting. She was more inspired by her painter friend Eilif Peterssen.
Subscribe to wocomoCULTURE: goo.gl/VITuUt
Follow us on Facebook: / wocomo
The Masterworks series is a treasure trove of art. Each ten-minute program focuses on an individual painting, with a rich visual survey accompanied by an authoritative voice-over commentary. The selection of works, from galleries on both sides of the Atlantic, covers a broad spectrum of art from the earliest European masterpieces to contemporary works, introducing the unfamiliar and rediscovering the well-loved.
© Licensed by Arthaus Musik