Aasta Hansteen, also known as Hasta Hanseen (born December 10, 1824 – April 13, 1908), was a Norwegian

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

, and early

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

Life and career

Aasta Hansteen was born in Christiania, modern day Oslo, the daughter of Christopher Hansteen, a noted professor of

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

geophysics Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and Physical property, properties of Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. Geophysicists conduct i ...

and applied mathematics at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

. She started her art education in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

(1840 - 1841) where she learned to draw. She continued her training for three years at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf where she studied fine brush alignment. She is associated with the

Düsseldorf school of painting Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

. She exhibited her work at the 1855 World's Fair in Paris. She returned to Norway and settled in Christiania where she, for several years, was in demand as the city's only portrait artist. Her most famous painting is possibly the portrait of her father, which is on permanent exhibit at the

National Gallery of Norway The National Gallery () is a gallery in Oslo, Norway. Since 2003 it is administratively a part of the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design. History It was established in 1842 following a parliamentary decision from 1836. Originally lo ...

. Overwhelmed by the interest in her portraits, she resigned from her craft for several years and moved to

Telemark Telemark () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway. Telemark borders the counties of Vestfold, Buskerud, Vestland, Rogaland and Agder. In 2020, Telemark merged with the county of Vestfold to form the county o ...

, where she developed an interest in

Norwegian dialects Norwegian dialects () are commonly divided into four main groups, 'Northern Norwegian' (), 'Central Norwegian' (), 'Western Norwegian' (), and 'Eastern Norwegian' (). Sometimes 'Midland Norwegian' () and/or 'South Norwegian' () are considered fi ...

. When she moved back to Christiania, she studied with the linguist

Ivar Aasen Ivar Andreas Aasen (; 5 August 1813 – 23 September 1896) was a Norwegian philologist, lexicographer, playwright, and poet. He is best known for having assembled one of the two official written versions of the Norwegian language, Nynorsk, from ...

. In 1862 she published anonymously a small book written in

Nynorsk Nynorsk (; ) is one of the two official written standards of the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. From 12 May 1885, it became the state-sanctioned version of Ivar Aasen's standard Norwegian language (''Landsmål''), parallel to the Da ...

and had the distinction of being the first woman to publish in this language. Together with her foster daughter Theodora Nielsen, she sailed from Christiania on April 9, 1880. She lived in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

for nine years (1880-1889). She spent six and a half years in the

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

area and two and a half years in the Midwest, primarily

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. Aasta Hansteen met or observed such leading reformers on the time as

Lucy Stone Lucy Stone (August 13, 1818 – October 18, 1893) was an American orator, Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist and Suffrage, suffragist who was a vocal advocate for and organizer of promoting Women's rights, rights for women. In 1847, ...

Julia Ward Howe Julia Ward Howe ( ; May 27, 1819 – October 17, 1910) was an American author and poet, known for writing the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" as new lyrics to an existing song, and the original 1870 pacifist Mothers' Day Proclamation. She w ...

, Mary Livermore, and Wendell Phillips. Her initial income came from writing for the Christiania-based newspaper ''

Verdens Gang (), generally known under the abbreviation ''VG'', is a Norway, Norwegian Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper. In 2016, circulation numbers stood at 93,883, declining from a peak circulation of 390,510 in 2002. Nevertheless, ''VG'' is ...

'', which she supplemented by painting portraits on commission. Among others, Norwegian reformer and editor Marcus Thrane sat for his portrait. In 1889, she returned to Norway with a renewed interest in the women's movement. She joined the

Norwegian Association for Women's Rights The Norwegian Association for Women's Rights (; NKF) is Norway's oldest and preeminent women's rights, women's and girls' rights organization that works "to promote gender equality and all women's and girls' human rights through political reform, ...

(''Norsk Kvinnesaksforening'') and became an active contributor in the press on women's rights. Hansteen died in Kristiania, modern-day Oslo. Hansteen was a vocal critic of the

Judeo-Christian The term ''Judeo-Christian'' is used to group Christianity and Judaism together, either in reference to Christianity's derivation from Judaism, Christianity's recognition of Jewish scripture to constitute the Old Testament of the Christian Bibl ...

and Pauline perception of women, which she felt was denigrating of women's spiritual worth. She was a strong and controversial personality, who frequented cafes and markets on her own, and became one of the more colorful fixtures in Oslo.

Legacy

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

is said to have used her as a model for the character Lona Hessel in his play '' The Pillars of Society''. Additionally she was believed to have served as the inspiration for the title role in Gunnar Heiberg's '' Aunt Ulrikke''. Norwegian pianist and composer Agathe Backer Grøndahl dedicated compositions to her. Her grave in Vår Frelsers gravlund in Oslo is marked with a bust made by Gustav Vigeland. Aasta Hansteens vei (road) in the Stovner borough of the city of Oslo and Aasta Hansteens vei in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

are both named for Aasta Hansteen. A statue of her by Norwegian sculptor, Nina Sundbye, is located in the

Aker Brygge Aker Brygge is a neighbourhood in central Oslo, Norway. Since the 1980s and 1990s, it has been a popular area for shopping, dining, and entertainment, as well as a high-end residential area. It was previously an industrial area. Location Aker B ...

area of Oslo. The Aasta Hansteen gas field came on stream 16 December 2018. The Aasta Hansteen field is located in 1 300 meters of water in the Vøring area in the Norwegian Sea, 300 kilometers west of Sandnessjøen. Its floating platform is taller than the Eiffel tower.
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Selected works

* ''Skrift og Umskrift i Landsmaalet'', 1862 * ''Kvindens stilling i Verden, i Nordisk Maanedsskrift for folkelig og kristelig Oplysning'', 1871 * ''Kvinden skabt i Guds Billede'', 1878 * ''Kristi kirke i det nittende aarhundrede'', 1897 * ''Dikt i (Ivar Aasens) landsmaal. 1862–67'', 1908

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hansteen, Aasta 1824 births 1908 deaths 19th-century Norwegian painters 20th-century Norwegian painters Norwegian feminists Norwegian portrait painters Burials at the Cemetery of Our Saviour Norwegian women's rights activists Norwegian expatriates in the United States Norwegian Association for Women's Rights people 20th-century Norwegian women painters 19th-century Norwegian women painters