3009 - ALBERT ANKER

ALBERT ANKER (1831 Ins 1910) Die ältere Schwester, strickend. 1882. Oil on canvas. Signed and dated lower left: Anker 1882. 53 × 76.5 cm. Provenance: - Auction Zbinden-Hess, Bern, 1–2 December 1944, lot 347. - Private collection, Switzerland, acquired at the above auction. - Thence by descent to the present owner. Exhibited: - Probably Basel 1882, Catalog der Extra-Ausstellung schweizerischer Künstler, Kunsthalle Basel, May 1882, no. 2, as ‘Strickendes Mädchen’. - Konolfingen 1954, Ausstellung Albert Anker, Gemeinde Konolfingen, 2–23 May 1954, no. 30, as ‘Das schlafende Brüderchen’. - Bern 1960, Albert Anker, Kunstmuseum Bern, 17 September–11 December 1960, no. 82, as ‘Die ältere Schwester’ (label on verso). Literature: - Probably Beat Tscharner von Bürier: Die bildenden Künste in der Schweiz im Jahr 1881, Bern 1882, p. 8. - Exhibition catalogue Ausstellung Albert Anker, Konolfingen 1954, p. 18, no. 30. - Fritz Probst and Marguerite Janson: Albert Anker. Sein Dorf und seine Modelle, Basel 1954, p. 24. - Exhibition catalogue Albert Anker, Bern 1960, no. 82. - Albert Anker, Max Huggler and Kunstmuseum Bern: Albert Anker. Katalog der Gemälde und Ölstudien, Bern 1962, no. 108, as ‘Strickendes Mädchen und schlafender Knabe’ (ill.). - Sandor Kuthy and Therese Bhattacharya-Stettler: Albert Anker. Werkkatalog der Gemälde und Ölstudien, Basel 1995, p. 157, no. 294 (ill.). An older sister sits beside her little brother, who is asleep on a red bench, absorbed in her knitting. While the boy sleeps peacefully, she keeps a quiet, watchful eye on him. In ‘Die ältere Schwester, strickend’, painted in 1882, Albert Anker captures an ordinary moment of daily life and imbues it with a particular intimacy. The scene is remarkable for its peaceful atmosphere, in which every gesture seems entirely natural. Warm light suffuses the composition, reinforcing the tranquillity of the moment and drawing attention to the close bond between the two children. Without lapsing into sentimentality, Anker transforms this everyday scene into a touching portrayal of childhood affection. The stillness of the sleeping boy contrasts with his sister’s concentrated activity, while the red bench introduces a warm accent of colour. In the naturalness of their gestures and their unselfconscious closeness lies the quiet poetry of everyday life that makes Anker’s painting so distinctive.