Albert Samuel Anker (1 April 1831 – 16 July 1910) was a Swiss painter and

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...

who has been called the "national painter" of Switzerland because of his enduringly popular depictions of 19th-century Swiss social life.

Life

Born in

Ins INS or Ins may refer to: Places * Ins, Switzerland, a municipality * Creech Air Force Base (IATA airport code INS) * Indonesia, ITF and UNDP code INS * INS Park, an entertainment complex in China Biology *'' Ins'', a New World genus of bee flie ...

as the son of

veterinarian A veterinarian (vet) or veterinary surgeon is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, veterinarians also play a role in animal r ...

Samuel Anker (then a member of the

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of the

Canton of Bern The canton of Bern, or Berne (; ; ; ), is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. The bear is the heraldic symbol of the c ...

) and Marianne Elisabeth (born Gatschet). In 1836 his father became veterinarian in

Neuchâtel Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital (political), capital of the cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel ...

, and the Anker family moved there. Anker attended school in

, where his teacher in sketching was Frédéric-Wilhelm Moritz. He and Auguste Bachelin, later a fellow artist, took private drawing lessons with Louis Wallinger from 1845 to 1848. In 1849 he enrolled into a Gymnasium in

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

, graduating with the ''

Matura or its translated terms (''mature'', ''matur'', , , , , ', ) is a Latin name for the secondary school exit exam or "maturity diploma" in various European countries, including Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech ...

'' in 1851''.'' Afterwards, he studied

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, beginning in 1851 at the

University of Bern The University of Bern (, , ) is a public university, public research university in the Switzerland, Swiss capital of Bern. It was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the canton of Bern. It is a comprehensive university offering a br ...

and continuing at the

University of Halle Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (), also referred to as MLU, is a public research university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg. It is the largest and oldest university in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. MLU offers German and i ...

, Germany. But in Germany he was inspired by the great art collections, and in 1854 he convinced his father to agree to an artistic career. In Neuchâtel he began using the name Albert, because it was easier to pronounce for his French-speaking classmates. Albert Anker 1855

Anker moved to Paris, where he studied with

Charles Gleyre Marc Gabriel Charles Gleyre (2 May 1806 – 5 May 1874), was a Swiss artist who was a resident in France from an early age. He took over the studio of Paul Delaroche in 1843 and taught a number of younger artists who became prominent, including He ...

and attended the

École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in nor ...

in 1855–60. He installed a studio in the attic of his parents' house and participated regularly in exhibitions in Switzerland and in Paris. Anker married Anna Rüfli in 1864, and they had six children together; the four children who did not die at an early age – Louise, Marie, Maurice and Cécile – appear in some of Anker's paintings. In 1866, he was awarded a gold medal at the Paris Salon for ''Schlafendes Mädchen im Walde'' (1865) und ''Schreibunterricht'' (1865); in 1878 he was made a knight of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

. In 1870–74 he was a member of the

Grand Council of Bern The Grand Council (, ) is the parliament of the Swiss canton of Bern. It consists of 160 members (as of 2006) elected by proportional representation for a four-year term of office. The French-speaking part of the canton, the Bernese Jura (distric ...

, where he advocated the construction of the

Kunstmuseum Bern The Museum of Fine Arts Bern (German: ''Kunstmuseum Bern''), established in 1879 in Bern, is the museum of fine arts of the de facto capital of Switzerland. Collections Its holdings run from the Middle Ages to the present. It houses works by Pa ...

. Apart from his regular wintertime stays in Paris, Anker frequently travelled to Italy and other European countries. In 1889–93 and 1895–98 he was a member of the Swiss Federal Art Commission and in 1900 he received an honorary doctorate from the

. A stroke in 1901 reduced his ability to work. Only after his death in 1910 was there a first exposition dedicated to him, held at the Musée d'art et d'histoire in Neuchâtel.

Works

During his studies, Anker produced a series of works with historical and biblical themes, including paintings of Luther and

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. Soon after returning to Ins, though, he turned to what would become his signature theme: the everyday life of people in rural communities. His paintings depict his fellow citizens in an unpretentious and plain manner, without idealising country life, but also without the critical examination of social conditions that can be found in the works of contemporaries such as Daumier,

Courbet Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( ; ; ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and the ...

Millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most millets belong to the tribe Paniceae. Millets are important crops in the Semi-arid climate, ...

. Although Anker did paint occasional scenes with a social significance, such as visits by usurers or charlatans to the village, his affirmative and idealistic Christian world-view did not include an inclination to issue any sort of overt challenge. Also prominent in Anker's work are the more than 30

still life A still life (: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, human-m ...

s he created. They depict both rural and urban table settings in the tradition of

Chardin Chardin is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, (1699–1779), French painter noted for his still life works * Jean Chardin, (1643–1713), French jeweller and traveller, author of ''The Trave ...

, their realist solidity reflecting Anker's vision of a harmonic and stable world order. In addition, Anker created hundreds of commissioned watercolours and drawings, mostly portraits and illustrations, including for an edition of

Jeremias Gotthelf Albert Bitzius (4 October 179722 October 1854) was a Swiss novelist, best known by his pen name of Jeremias Gotthelf. Biography Bitzius was born at Murten, where his father was pastor. The Bitzius family had once belonged to the Bernese patric ...

's collected works. Between 1866, the year Anker settled to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and 1892, Anker also decorated more than 500

faience Faience or faïence (; ) is the general English language term for fine tin-glazed pottery. The invention of a white Ceramic glaze, pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an stannous oxide, oxide of tin to the Slip (c ...

plates for the Alsatian

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

industrial

Théodore Deck Joseph-Théodore Deck (2 January 1823 – 15 May 1891) was a 19th-century French Pottery, potter, an important figure in late 19th-century art pottery. Born in Guebwiller, Haut-Rhin, he began learning the trade in his early 20s, moving to Paris at ...

. Anker was quick to reach his artistic objectives and never strayed from his chosen path. His works, though, exude a sense of conciliation and understanding as well as a calm trust in Swiss democracy; they are executed with great skill, providing brilliance to everyday scenes through subtle choices in colouring and lighting. Their parochial motives belie the open-mindedness towards contemporary European art and events that Anker's correspondence reflects.

Reception

Albert Anker's work made him Switzerland's most popular genre painter of the 19th century, and his paintings have continued to enjoy a great popularity due to their general accessibility. Indeed, as a student, Anker summed up his approach to art as follows: "One has to shape an idea in one's imagination, and then one has to make that idea accessible to the people." Many Swiss

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail). Then the stamp is affixed to the f ...

s and other media have incorporated Anker's work. His studio in Ins has been preserved as a museum by the Albert Anker Foundation. One of Anker's greatest admirers and collectors is former Swiss Federal Councillor

Christoph Blocher Christoph Wolfram Blocher (; born 11 October 1940) is a Swiss industrialist and politician who served as a List of members of the Swiss Federal Council, Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2004 to 2007. A member of the Swiss People's Party ( ...

, since the 1980s Switzerland's most influential conservative politician, who also published an apologetic essay on Anker.

Personal life

His brother Rudolf and his mother both died in 1847, when Anker was in Neuchâtel. His younger sister Louise died in 1852.

Gallery

File:Albert Anker - Knabe bei Tisch II (1869).jpg, ''Boy at Table'' (''Ruedi Anker'') by Albert Anker, 1869 File:Albert Anker - Strickendes Mädchen, Kleinkind in der Wiege hütend.jpg, ''Strickendes Mädchen, Kleinkind in der Wiege hütend, 1884'' File:Albert Anker Die Kinderkrippe.jpg, Die Kinderkrippe, 1890 File:Albert Anker Küchenszene.jpg, Küchenszene. 1892. File:Albert Anker - Mädchenbildnis.jpg, (1885) File:Albert Anker - Schulknabe.jpg, 1881 File:Albert Anker - Knabenbildnis (02).jpg File:Albert Anker - Verwundeter Soldat.jpg, Probably 1870s File:Das Mädchen mit den Dominosteinen by Albert Anker.jpg, ''Das Mädchen mit den Dominosteinen'' File:Fleissig--Appliquée by Albert Anker, 1886.jpg, ''Fleissig / Appliquée, 1886'' File:Girl Knitting - Albert Anker.png File:Albert Anker - Der Dorfschneider.jpg, ''The Village Tailor'', 1894 File:Albert Anker - Böckligumpen (1866).jpg, Böckligumpen, 1866 File:Albert Anker - Die Taufe (1864).jpg, ''Baptism'', 1864 File:Albert Anker - Das Schulexamen.jpg, Das Schulexamen ''The school exam'', 1862 File:Albert Anker - Kinderbegräbnis (1863).jpg, Kinderbegräbnis,1863 File:Anker Die kleine Kartoffelschälerin 1886.jpg, ''Girl peeling potatoes'', 1886, oil on canvas File:Reine Berthe et les fileueses, 1888.jpg, ''Queen Bertha and the Spinners, 1888''

References

Bibliography

* H.A. Lüthy, S. Kuthy, ''Albert Anker'' (1980) * S. Kuthy, T. Bhattacharya-Stettler, ''Albert Anker, Ölgemälde und Ölstudien'' (1995)

External links

* * *
albert-anker.ch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anker, Albert 1831 births 1910 deaths People from Seeland District 19th-century Swiss painters Swiss male painters 20th-century Swiss painters 20th-century Swiss male artists Swiss portrait painters Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg alumni Knights of the Legion of Honour École des Beaux-Arts alumni 19th-century Swiss male artists University of Bern alumni Artists awarded knighthoods