Anna Boberg (1864-1935), a fascination with Norwegian fjords

In 1901, Anna Boberg discovered the Lofoten Islands with her husband, a Stockholm-based architect. Fascinated by the lifestyle of the local residents, who still sailed by the Arctic light that played on the landscapes, she stayed there each year to spend the winter. The islands inspired her to express the emotions she felt through painting and writing. Her paintings evoke the beauty of the fjords, as both awe-inspiring and hostile natural spaces. Her compositions are a call to contemplation, echoing that of the artist as she captured the variations of light on the ice, and the contrasts of the rocks outlined against the sky and sea. Printemps arctique (Arctic spring) evokes as closely as possible the world of fishing and the reflections of boats on the water. The work also emphasizes the harmonies of colour that emanate from the scene observed. Reflecting the artist’s moods, some of the scenes, such as La Crique mystérieuse (Mysterious creek), also call on the imagination. Exhibiting for the first time in Paris in 1905, at the Galerie des artistes modernes, Anna Boberg caught the public’s attention. When it was shown at the Salon d’Automne in 1924, La Crique mystérieuse was purchased by the state. Eight years later, Printemps arctique also became part of the national collections.