Interior from Uvdal Stave Church 1909

Harriet Backer made this oil painting called Interior from Uvdal Stave Church and it feels like she was working through something. The brushstrokes are wild and free, like she’s trying to capture a feeling more than a perfect picture. Look at that big column in the middle, how the blues and greens smear together, it reminds me of the way I layer colors, letting them mix right on the canvas. You can almost feel the texture of the wood and the cool air inside the church. The way the light filters in, hitting the woman in the pew, it’s like a spotlight, but soft. Backer’s not just showing us a place, she’s inviting us into a moment of quiet reflection, just like Vilhelm Hammershøi, who was also into these kinds of quiet, light-filled interiors. I think she is suggesting that the process of seeing is always a way of thinking.