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Artists’ stories

An encounter with art every day. Stories to read, listen to and rediscover.

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7 stories

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Albert Anker — La Mariette aux fraises — Image creditsAlbert Anker · La Mariette aux fraises · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Paradise Chronicle
Albert Anker — « La Mariette aux fraises ».
Albert Anker · La Mariette aux fraises · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Paradise Chronicle
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Albert Anker · 5 min read

The strawberry picker whose title changed

Painted in 1884 with Rosa Zesiger as its model, Mariette with Strawberries received a name evoking Gotthelf. Distinguishing portrait, village scene and literary memory makes this painting by Anker more precise and more endearing.

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Albert Anker — La Crèche II — Image creditsAlbert Anker · La Crèche II · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Paradise Chronicle
Albert Anker — « La Crèche II ». Another work by the artist, chosen as a visual connection to the story.
Albert Anker · La Crèche II · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Paradise Chronicle
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Albert Anker · 5 min read

The walk resumed eight years later

Anker set The Nursery on a Walk aside in 1892, then returned to the canvas in 1900. His dated notes and the children crossing the Kirchenfeld bridge bring a lively scene into dialogue with the painting’s patient time.

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Albert Anker — Salle de classe — Image creditsAlbert Anker · Salle de classe · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Albert Anker — « Salle de classe ». Another work by the artist, chosen as a visual connection to the story.
Albert Anker · Salle de classe · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
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Proportional resizing and WebP conversion, without cropping.

Albert Anker · 5 min read

The school that did not look like a reassuring image

In 1858, Anker observed life in a Black Forest village. The classroom he derived from it entered the Paris Salon the following year, with a vision of education far less peaceful than his reputation might lead us to expect.

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Albert Anker — Les Petites Brodeuses — Image creditsAlbert Anker · Les Petites Brodeuses · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Paradise Chronicle
Albert Anker — « Les Petites Brodeuses ».
Albert Anker · Les Petites Brodeuses · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Paradise Chronicle
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Proportional resizing and WebP conversion, without cropping.

Albert Anker · 5 min read

The embroiderers wore dresses from another century

In The Little Embroiderers of 1875, Anker had children pose in Louis XV dresses. The painting held in Lausanne tells of a meeting between learning a gesture and the Parisian taste for eighteenth-century painting.

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Albert Anker — La reine Berthe et les fileuses — Image creditsAlbert Anker · La reine Berthe et les fileuses · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Albert Anker — « La reine Berthe et les fileuses ».
Albert Anker · La reine Berthe et les fileuses · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
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Albert Anker · 5 min read

How a sceptre became a distaff

Anker's Queen Bertha teaches spinning, but this famous image belongs to a long construction of memory. Behind the distaff lies an earlier reinterpretation of a sceptre; in front of the painting, a public subscription extends the legend's power.

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Albert Anker — Le secrétaire de commune — Image creditsAlbert Anker · Le secrétaire de commune · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Albert Anker — « Le secrétaire de commune ».
Albert Anker · Le secrétaire de commune · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
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Proportional resizing and WebP conversion, without cropping.

Albert Anker · 5 min read

The pen between his teeth, then on a gold coin

Anker's municipal clerk has left his desk several times: in a painted repetition, printed reproduction, stamp and coin. Yet his success rests on a very simple detail, a pen held between his teeth while he reads.

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Albert Anker — Le Baptême — Image creditsAlbert Anker · Le Baptême · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Albert Anker — « Le Baptême ». Another work by the artist, chosen as a visual connection to the story.
Albert Anker · Le Baptême · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
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Proportional resizing and WebP conversion, without cropping.

Albert Anker · 5 min read

One cradle, four ways of drawing near

In The Newborn, Anker tells of a child's arrival through the gestures of those around it. From Paris to Lausanne, the painting also becomes a model for painters: an intimate story offered to a collective gaze.

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