About the original:

Nørregaard grew up in an officer's family in Oslo. At the age of 20, she started at Bergslien's painting school. She was a pupil of Eilif Peterssen in Munich in the years 1875–78 and later studied in Paris. It was portraiture that she wanted to specialize in. At the same time, she painted several landscapes and figure compositions. Nørregaard carried out a number of formal portraits on commission.

Portraits of the upper class

It was especially the women in the upper social strata who wanted to be portrayed by Nørregaard, but she often painted both husband and wife in a family. Nørregaard most often portrayed the woman using pastel, while the men were portrayed in oil. If children were to be portrayed, she also often used pastels.

Nørregaard's portraits often give an impression of strong realism. You will probably quickly become convinced that the model looked exactly like this.

A provocative altarpiece

Nørregaard's most prestigious commission was the altarpiece for Gjøvik Church. The church was designed by architect JW Nordan and inaugurated in 1882. The motif of the altarpiece is the consoling Christ, and the composition is dominated by a standing figure of Christ. The altarpiece was painted in Paris. It was not well received when it arrived in Gjøvik in 1883; it was believed that Christ was made too small and insignificant. The result was that Nørregaard had to change the composition and lengthen the figure of Christ. Nørregaard saw this as a defeat, but the congregation in Gjøvik was at least satisfied.

Date: 1881

Other titles: L'Attente de Christ (FRA)

Waiting for Christ (ENG)

Designation: Painting

Material and technique: Oil on canvas

Technique: Oil

Material: Canvas

Dimensions: 93.5 x 115.1 cm

Subject: Visual arts

Classification: 532 - Visual arts

Acquisition: Purchased 1998

Inventory no.: NG.M.04418

Registration level: Single object

Owner and collection: The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Visual Art Collections