Anna Ancher (1859-1935)

Aliases: Anna Kirstine Ancher; Anna Kristine Ancher; Anna Kristine Brøndum

Professions: Painter

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  Anna Ancher: Lunchtime.

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  Anna Ancher: The painter's mother Mrs Brøndum in the blue sitting-room.

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  Anna Ancher: In the garden.

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  Anna Ancher: Interior with the painter's daughter Helga sewing.

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Anna Ancher Biography

(b Skagen, 18 Aug 1859; d Skagen, 15 April 1935). Wife of (1) Michael Ancher. She studied drawing at Vilhelm Kyhn’s drawing school, Copenhagen (1875–8), and painting under Puvis de Chavannes in Paris (1889). Her genre paintings and portraits are more intimate than those of her husband. Many of her everyday interiors contain a characteristic image of the shadow of window bars on a sunlit wall, displaying her natural skill as a colourist. An exquisite example is the Blind Woman in her Room (1883; Copenhagen, Hirschsprungske Saml.), in which the dark, bent figure of an old woman with worn hands is silhouetted against a golden sunlit wall. Women at work, particularly sewing or plucking poultry, are among her favourite subjects, as in the Girl in the Kitchen (1883–6; Copenhagen, Hirschsprungske Saml.). The girl stands by the window, turning her back to the viewer and immersed in her daily duties. Her red skirt and black jacket stand out brilliantly against a yellow and orange curtain, enlivened by the sunlight shining on the floor through a half-open door. Like her husband, Anna Ancher was drawn to the work of Vermeer but generally her tastes were not eclectic. She painted several portraits of her mother, one of the last of which dates from 1913 (Skagen, Skagens Mus.); it shows the 87-year-old woman wrapped in blankets and sitting in a chair. The picture may have been influenced by other artists’ depictions of the nobility of old age, such as Whistler’s famous portrait of his mother (Arrangement in Grey and Black, No. 1 , Paris, Mus. d’Orsay), but has its own, particularly sensitive handling of the frailty of life.

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