Michael Peter Ancher (9 June 1849 – 19 September 1927) was a Danish realist artist, widely known for his paintings of fishermen, the Skagerak and the North Sea, and other scenes from the Danish fishing community in

Skagen Skagen () is the northernmost town in Denmark, on the east coast of the Skagen Odde peninsula in the far north of Jutland, part of Frederikshavn Municipality in North Denmark Region, Nordjylland, north of Frederikshavn and northeast of Aalbo ...

Early life and education

Michael Peter Ancher was born at Rutsker on the island of

Bornholm Bornholm () is a List of islands of Denmark, Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland. Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. I ...

in the Baltic. The son of a local merchant, he attended school in

Rønne Rønne () is the largest town on the Denmark, Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. It has a population of 13,675 (1 January 2025). It was a municipality in its own right from 1970 until 2002, when Bornholm was a Bornholm County, county (D ...

but was unable to complete his secondary education as his father ran into financial difficulties, forcing him to fend for himself. In 1865, he found work as an apprentice clerk at Kalø Manor near

Rønde Rønde (or Roende) is a town on the southern part of the peninsula, Djursland in Denmark, Northern Europe, 23 kilometers north-east of the north end of Denmark's second largest city, Aarhus. It is in part a commuter town to Aarhus, with a motorw ...

in eastern

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

. The following year, he met the painters Theodor Philipsen and

Vilhelm Groth Georg Vilhelm Arnold Groth (9 March 1842, Copenhagen – 14 September 1899, Copenhagen) was a Danish landscape painter. Biography His father was a pharmacist and his mother came from a family of merchants. After taking a diploma at the Det von ...

who had arrived in the area to paint. Impressed with his own early work, they encouraged him to take up painting as a profession. In 1871, he spent a short period at C.V Nielsen's art school as a preliminary to joining the

Royal Danish Academy of Art The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts () has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark. History The Royal Danish Academy of Portraiture, Sculpture, and Architecture in Cope ...

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 ...

later in the year. Although he spent some time at the academy, he left in 1875 without graduating. One of his student companions was

Karl Madsen Carl Johan Wilhelm Madsen, commonly known as Karl Madsen, (22 March 1855 – 16 April 1938) was a Danish painter and art historian with close connections to the Skagen Painters. Early life and education Born in Copenhagen on 22 March 1855, Mad ...

who invited him to travel to

, a small fishing village in the far north of Jutland where

Skagerak The Skagerrak (; , , ) is a strait running between the North Jutlandic Island of Denmark, the east coast of Norway and the west coast of Sweden, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea. The Skagerrak contains some of the busiest shipping ...

and

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

converge. From the mid-1870s, he and Madsen became key members of a group of artists who congregated there each summer, known as the

Skagen Painters The Skagen Painters () were a group of Scandinavian artists who gathered in the village of Skagen, the northernmost part of Denmark, from the late 1870s until the turn of the century. Skagen was a summer destination whose scenic nature, local mi ...

. After Ancher first visited Skagen in 1874, he settled there joining the growing society of artists. The colony of painters regularly met in the

Brøndums Hotel Brøndums Hotel, in the little harbor town of Skagen in the north of Denmark, is remembered for its close associations with the late 19th-century artists colony known as the Skagen Painters. It still operates as a hotel today. History The hotel ...

in Skagen in order to exchange ideas. In 1880 Ancher married fellow painter and Skagen native Anna Brøndum, whose father owned the Brøndums Hotel. In the first years of their marriage, the couple had a home and studio in the "Garden House", which is now in the garden of the Skagens Museum. After the birth of their daughter

Helga Helga (derived from Old Norse ''heilagr'' - "holy", "blessed") is a female name, used mainly in Scandinavia, German-speaking countries and the Low Countries (''Hege'', ''Helle'', ''Helge'', ''Helga'', ''Helka'' or ''Oili''). The name was in use ...

in 1883, the family moved to Markvej in Skagen.

Career

He achieved his artistic breakthrough in 1879 with the painting ''Vil han klare pynten'' (''

Will He Round the Point? ''Will He Round the Point?'' () is an 1880 oil-on-canvas painting by Michael Ancher, a Danish painter associated with the Skagen Painters. The painting is particularly notable as Ancher sold it to Christian IX of Denmark, bringing Skagen and its ...

''). Michael Ancher's works depict Skagen's heroic fishermen and their dramatic experiences at sea, combining realism and classical composition. Key works include ''The Lifeboat is Carried Through The Dunes'' (1883), ''The Crew Are Saved'' (1894) and ''The Drowned Man'' (1896). Michael Ancher was influenced by his traditional training at the

Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts () has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark. History The Royal Danish Academy of Portraiture, Sculpture, and Architecture in Cope ...

in the 1870s which imposed strict rules for composition. His marriage to

Anna Ancher Anna Ancher (18 August 1859 – 15 April 1935) was a Danish artist associated with the Skagen Painters, an artist colony on the northern point of Jylland, Denmark. She is considered to be one of Denmark's greatest visual artists. Background An ...

did, however, introduce him to the naturalistic concept of undecorated reproduction of reality and its colours. By combining the pictorial composition of his youth with the teachings of naturalism, Michael Ancher created what has been called modern monumental figurative art, such as ''A Baptism''. Michael Ancher - A stroll on the beach - Google Art Project

Michael Ancher - A stroll on the beach - Google Art Project

Among other places, the works of Anna and Michael Ancher can be seen at the

Skagens Museum Skagens Museum is an art museum in Skagen, Denmark, that exhibits an extensive collection of works by members of the colony of Skagen Painters who lived and worked in the area in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Important artists include M ...

, , the Frederiksborg Museum,

The Hirschsprung Collection The Hirschsprung Collection ( Danish: Den Hirschsprungske Samling) is an art museum located on Stockholmsgade in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located in a parkland setting in Østre Anlæg, near the Danish National Gallery, and houses a large coll ...

, and Ribe Art Museum. Michael Ancher received the

Eckersberg Medal The Eckersberg Medal (originally the ''Akademiets Aarsmedaille'' or Annual Academy Medal) is an annual award of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. It is named after Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg, known as the father of Danish painting. The ...

in 1889 and in 1894 the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

. Originally many of Ancher's paintings hung in the dining room of the Brøndums Hotel. The painter P.S. Krøyer conceived the idea of placing paintings by different artists in the wall panels. In 1946 the dining hall was moved to Skagens Museum.

Michael and Anna Ancher's home

The Skagen residence of Anna and Michael Ancher was purchased in 1884. In 1913, a large studio annex was added to the property and this also forms part of what is on display today. Upon her death in 1935, their daughter, Helga Ancher, left the house and all of its contents to the Helga Ancher Foundation. In 1967 the home was turned into a museum, the Anchers Hus. The original furniture and paintings created by the Anchers and other Skagen artists are shown in the restored home and studio. Temporary art exhibitions are arranged in ''Saxilds Gaard'', another building on the property. This house is filled with displays of paintings by Michael and Anna Ancher as well as those by many other Skagen painters who made up their circle of friends. Today the house is a part of Skagens Kunstmuseer. File:Michael & Anna Anchers Hus i Skagen, 2007 ubt.jpeg, Michael and Anna Ancher's home, Anchers Hus, in Skagen File:ANCHER HOUSE INTERIOR - SKAGEN, DENMARK.jpg, The dining room in the Ancher house File:Anchers hus atelje.JPG, The artist's atelier

Danish thousand-kroner bill

Anna and Michael Ancher were featured on the front of the previous series DKK1000 bill. The first version of the bill came into circulation on 18 September 1998, and was then updated on 25 November 2004, adding more security features. The front of the banknote featured a double portrait of Anna and Michael Ancher, derived from two 1884 paintings by

Peder Severin Krøyer Peder Severin Krøyer (; 23 July 1851 – 21 November 1909), also known as P. S. Krøyer, was a Danish painter. Life Growing up and early training Krøyer was born in Stavanger, Norway, on 23 July 1851 to a single mother, Ellen Cecilie Gjes ...

which originally hung on the walls in the dining room at Brøndums Hotel.

Correspondance

A collection of almost 4,000 letters between Michael and Anna Ancher and their friends, with comments by the art historian Elisabeth Fabritius, was published as ''Anna og Mchael Ancher. Breve og fotografier 1866-1935'' I-VI was published by Forlaget Historika. in 2020.

Newly-discovered Van Gogh copy

In 2016, a painting was purchased for less than $50 at a

garage sale A garage sale (also known as a yard sale, tag sale, moving sale and by many other namesSome rarely used names include "attic sale", "basement sale", "rummage sale", "thrift sale", "patio sale", "lawn sale", and "jumble sale".) is an informal ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, bearing the inscription 'Elimar'. After speculation that the work was by Dutch artist

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks ...

, it was brought to the art research firm LMI Group International in NYC in 2019, who after four years of research ultimately attributed the painting to Van Gogh. From 2020-2025, the work went under investigation by a team of around 20 experts, and numerous pieces of evidence have been put forward in a 456 page report to prove the work's authenticity; analyzation of the canvas weave, radiocarbon dating, paint

pigments A pigment is a powder used to add or alter color or change visual appearance. Pigments are completely or nearly solubility, insoluble and reactivity (chemistry), chemically unreactive in water or another medium; in contrast, dyes are colored sub ...

and overall characteristics of the style. A strand of red human hair was even found embedded in the canvas and was sent to be analyzed. Despite the fact that it came from a human male, efforts to compare its

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

to that of Van Gogh's descendants ultimately failed due to its reportedly "degraded state", as stated by LMI. This research has also given experts the ability to date the work, which was in 1889, during Van Gogh's time at the

Saint-Paul Asylum The Monastery of Saint Paul de Mausole () is a former Roman Catholic 11th—century Benedictine monastery in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Provence, France. It was later administered by the Order of Saint Francis in 1605. Several rooms of the buildi ...

in Saint-Rémy. The LMI Group later stated that the work (now referred to as 'Elimar', using the inscription in the bottom right corner) was based on a portrait by Michael Ancher, therefore adding to Van Gogh's considerable list of "translations" of other artists' works (notably

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer, whose work has been primarily associated with the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements. He was also an influ ...

Émile Bernard Émile Henri Bernard (; 28 April 1868 – 16 April 1941) was a French Post-Impressionist painter and writer, who had artistic friendships with Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin and Eugène Boch, and at a later time, Paul Cézanne. Most of his no ...

and

Jean-François Millet Jean-François Millet (; 4 October 1814 – 20 January 1875) was a French artist and one of the founders of the Barbizon school in rural France. Millet is noted for his paintings of peasant farmers and can be categorized as part of the Realis ...

). According to research by the LMI Group, the ‘Elimar’ inscription on the Van Gogh painting is a reference by Vincent Van Gogh to a fisherman character in one of Hans Christian Andersen’s books of which Van Gogh was known to have read, and is not the signature of the Danish amateur painter Henning Elimar (based on material science and data, inscription measurements, stylistic and other documented in-congruencies).
/ref>

Paintings

File:Michael Ancher - Christmas Day 1900 - Google Art Project.jpg, Christmas Day 1900 A Baptism (Michael Ancher).jpg, A Baptism Michael Ancher Strandszene.jpg, Beach scene File:Michael Ancher - Skagen girl, Maren Sofie, knitting. - Google Art Project.jpg, Skagen girl, Maren Sofie, knitting Fishermen.1.jpg, Two Fishermen by a boat File:Michael Ancher - Den røde redningsbåd sejler ud.jpg, The red lifeboat on its way out to the sea File:Michael Ancher - Portrait of my wife. The painter Anna Ancher - Google Art Project.jpg, '' Portrait of My Wife, the Painter Anna Ancher'' File:Michael Ancher - Anna Ancher returning from the field - Google Art Project.jpg,

returning from the field Michael Ancher - Unfinished portrait of Adrian Stokes.JPG, Unfinished portrait of Adrian Stokes

References

Bibliography

External links

Brøndums Hotel

Skagen Paintings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ancher, Michael Peter 1849 births 1927 deaths 19th-century Danish painters Danish male painters 20th-century Danish painters 19th-century Danish letter writers 20th-century Danish letter writers Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog People from Bornholm Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni Recipients of the Thorvaldsen Medal Recipients of the Eckersberg Medal Skagen Painters 19th-century Danish male artists 20th-century Danish male artists