3-050-377 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Christening in Tanum Church, 1892. Additional Info: A woman is seated on the hindmost pew of the church and turns toward the entryway, where the baptismal procession is coming closer. It is first upon closer scrutiny that the viewer discovers a man standing by the door, as well as two other women to the very right of the painting. Harriet Backer’s virtuoso skills are on fine display here, as she captures the variously illuminated surfaces as the sunlight filters into the dusky interior of the church. The view from the church interior and out into the open allows for a striking perspective.