Features Harriet Backer’s masterpiece, and paintings by Giorgione, Ford Madox Brown, Jules Breton and his daughter, and others.
Backer
A new mother carries her infant over the threshold of a church for their christening. But whose painting influenced Harriet Backer’s masterpiece?
Religious works, including two Nativities and a fine painting of Joseph and Mary walking to Bethlehem, Naturalist and Impressionist styles too.
What made images of women sewing so popular in the late 19th century? Here are some of the best from about 1885 to the Nabis in the 20th century.
Exposure to colour was, for centuries, determined by class. The poor lived in largely drab worlds, but the rich surrounded themselves with vivid hues. This all changed in the late 19th century and the 20th.
The world looks very different now, compared with the past. This explores differences in lighting, from candlepower to the excesses seen in modern cities, and their effects on painting.
Their landscapes developed a magic distinctive to the artist. Only by direct comparison are their similarities and differences made clear.
Ignoring Cubism and modernism, he developed a magical realism, bringing to life the trees and corn stooks around his smallholding.
After a visit to Berlin, his colours became more strident, and his brushstrokes looser. He also made many woodcuts, which influenced and informed his paintings.
With early success, he painted the rich colours of summer in western Norway, and some magical scenes of foxgloves and Midsummer Eve.
