A Country Cobbler

Harriet Backer (1845 - 1932)

Artist/Maker

Artist: Harriet Backer (1845 - 1932)

DatesSigned: Signed 1887

Material / Technique

Oil on canvas

Dimensionsh x w: Mått 66 x 89 cm h x w x d: Ram 86 x 110 x 9 cm

Inventory numberNM 2457

AcqusitionPresented 1925 by Torsten Laurin

Other titlesTitle (sv): Bygdeskomakare Title (en): A Country Cobbler

DescriptionDescription: Harriet Backer settled down in Paris in 1878 and was to remain there for ten years. She had studied in Munich but sought the greater freedom that Paris offered. In France she developed her own interiors, in which the light, the colours and the room create a particular atmosphere. She travelled back to Norway in the summers to paint working-class Norwegian interiors in the same way, like this cobbler from 1887.

Motif categoryPortrait

Collection

Paintings (Paintings)

MaterialDuk, Oil paint

TechniquePainting

Object category

painting

Keyword

Porträtt

External links

Wikidata: http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q18574549

Additional texteDescription: The Norwegian artist Harriet Backer is famous for her interiors with atmospheric lighting. Backer was a realist and strove to depict her subjects with the greatest possible veracity. She was also an Impressionist and created moods and atmospheres by showing how light affected colours and shapes. This is a rural setting, where the local shoe-maker is working in the light from the window. To achieve good lighting for his work, the shoe-maker has filtered the sunlight through a thin curtain. The working day ended at sunset. Exhibition text: The Norwegian artist Harriet Backer was known for her interiors. Here she depicts a rural setting with the village cobbler working by a window, the sunlight softened by a flimsy curtain. The combination of the atmospheric use of light and the endeavour to depict the motif with as much verisimilitude as possible is typical of Backer. During the time she spent abroad she came in to contact with realistic plein-air painting and French impressionism – influences that are combined in this work.