Discover the artist behind the beloved painting Breakfast Time. Hanna Hirsch Pauli is one of the most ‘famous unknown’ painters in Nordic art from the turn of the 20th century. This exhibition gives a comprehensive picture of her work for the first time. It also gives you the chance to get to know Hanna Hirsch Pauli both as an artist and as a person.
Hanna Hirsch Pauli is one of the most ‘famous unknown’ painters in Nordic art from the turn of the twentieth century. She painted iconic works, including a groundbreaking portrait of her artist friend Venny Soldan in the Parisian studio they shared, and the atmospheric outdoor scene Breakfast Time inspired by French impressionism. A considerable part of Hirsch-Pauli’s oeuvre is still unknown to broader audiences, though. The painter’s fascinating life story too remains largely uncharted territory.
The more than 120 artworks on display, which span a period of over 60 years, range from famous paintings created during her breakthrough period in the 1880s to symbolist landscapes, intimate portrayals of her family, interior scenes depicting the artist’s powerful network of women, and self-portraits created at the end of her life.
Drawing on new research and sensational archival findings, Nationalmuseum will present the first-ever comprehensive monographic exhibition of Hanna Hirsch Pauli’s work in the summer and autumn of 2025.