Chez moi
Harriet Backer·1887
Historical Context
Painted in 1887 and now one of Harriet Backer's most admired works, 'Chez moi' — 'At My Place' — depicts the artist's own apartment interior in a composition that blurs the boundary between genre scene and self-portrait. Backer lived in Paris until 1889, and her Kristiania address of the late 1880s was not yet her permanent home; this canvas may depict either a Paris or early-return Kristiania interior. The title's French language suggests a Paris origin, where the canvas was most likely exhibited. By choosing to paint her own domestic space, Backer claimed a subject traditionally considered trivial — the intimate, private interior — as a serious arena of painterly investigation. The influence of Edouard Vuillard's later Intimist work is frequently invoked in relation to Backer's interiors, though Backer predates Vuillard's mature style by a decade, making her a genuine precursor rather than a follower.
Technical Analysis
The composition achieves depth through a carefully orchestrated sequence of light zones from the brightest window or lamp area through mid-toned furnishings to shadowed corners. Backer used a warm chromatic base with cool accents in the shadows, creating the sense of a lived-in space suffused with
Look Closer
- ◆The title 'Chez moi' makes explicit what the painting implies: this is the artist's own private space, observed with
- ◆Domestic objects — furniture, textiles, perhaps a plant or personal effect — establish the specificity of a real
- ◆Light management is the painting's dominant achievement: multiple light sources or reflections create a complex,
- ◆The absence of a human figure makes the room itself the subject, a choice that anticipates Vuillard's Intimist approach
