View from my Balcony, Hansteensgate 2
Harriet Backer·1915
Historical Context
Painted in 1915 when Harriet Backer was 70 years old, this view from the balcony of her apartment at Hansteensgate 2 in Kristiania is an unusual and revealing late work — a glimpse outward from the enclosed interiors that defined her career, looking onto the urban street and cityscape below. The specific address — Hansteensgate 2 in the city's western residential district — grounds the painting in autobiographical reality, making it one of Backer's most directly self-locating works. By 1915, Backer had lived in this apartment for many years, and the view from its balcony was deeply familiar. Norwegian Impressionist painters of Backer's generation rarely depicted urban views of Kristiania in this mode — more often they turned to rural or pastoral subjects, or to enclosed domestic spaces. This balcony view participates in a distinctly European urban Impressionist tradition that includes Caillebotte's Paris boulevard views and Monet's views from his apartment windows, though Backer's
Technical Analysis
The balcony viewpoint creates a high-angle perspective that compresses the street scene below, flattening depth in a way consistent with Impressionist urban observation. Natural daylight from outdoors is the primary light source, creating a cool, clear atmosphere distinct from the warm lamplight of
Look Closer
- ◆The elevated balcony viewpoint compresses the street below, creating a geometric urban pattern of rooftops, trees, and
- ◆Daylight illumination gives this painting a cool, bright character very different from the warm lamplight atmosphere of
- ◆The specific Kristiania address makes this painting an autobiographical document — a view the artist observed daily
- ◆Bare or seasonal trees contribute strong linear elements to the composition, counterpointing the geometric architecture
