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Ferdinand Hodler — Le lac Léman vu de Chexbres — Image creditsFerdinand Hodler · Le lac Léman vu de Chexbres · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Ferdinand Hodler — « Le lac Léman vu de Chexbres ». Another work by the artist, chosen as a visual connection to the story.
Ferdinand Hodler · Le lac Léman vu de Chexbres · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
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Ferdinand Hodler · 5 min read

Fifteen days to give Lake Geneva a rhythm

In spring 1904, Hodler stays in Chexbres after his success in Vienna. Before a familiar panorama, he begins a series in which the lake becomes a vast coloured form, immediately welcomed into a public collection.

Featured on October 19, 2026

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Louis Ducros — Vue du Panthéon — Image creditsLouis Ducros · Vue du Panthéon · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Abraham-Louis-Rodolphe Ducros (Moudon, 1748 - Lausanne, 1810), Swiss engraver and watercolourist
Louis Ducros — « Vue du Panthéon ». Another work by the artist, chosen as a visual connection to the story.
Louis Ducros · Vue du Panthéon · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Abraham-Louis-Rodolphe Ducros (Moudon, 1748 - Lausanne, 1810), Swiss engraver and watercolourist
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Louis Ducros · 5 min read

The print that survived a falling-out

In Rome, Ducros and Jacques Sablet combine their talents for scenes of daily life. The Fried-Food Seller belongs to this enterprise, which ends in a falling-out. Yet the small print preserves their shared work.

Featured on October 18, 2026

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François Diday — Rivière, arbres, pont et chèvres — Image creditsFrançois Diday · Rivière, arbres, pont et chèvres · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
François Diday — « Rivière, arbres, pont et chèvres ». Another work by the artist, chosen as a visual connection to the story.
François Diday · Rivière, arbres, pont et chèvres · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
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François Diday · 5 min read

The fallen tree the painter wanted to keep

A small Uprooted Tree, now attributed to Diday, recalls the value the painter placed on his studies from nature. Roots and stumps open a closer encounter with landscape, beyond its monumental aspect alone.

Featured on October 17, 2026

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François Bocion — Bord du lac à Rivaz — Image creditsFrançois Bocion · Bord du lac à Rivaz · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
François Bocion — « Bord du lac à Rivaz ». Another work by the artist, chosen as a visual connection to the story.
François Bocion · Bord du lac à Rivaz · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
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François Bocion · 5 min read

The stones of a lake too calm

Saint-Saphorin seems to offer a perfectly tranquil Lake Geneva. Yet a preparatory study and a critic's comment reveal Bocion's studio work, organising stones, birds and distances to give life to the foreground.

Featured on October 16, 2026

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Ferdinand Hodler — Le Bûcheron — Image creditsFerdinand Hodler · Le Bûcheron · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Fernidand Hodler (1853 - 1918) – Painter (Swiss) Details on Google Art Project
Ferdinand Hodler — « Le Bûcheron ».
Ferdinand Hodler · Le Bûcheron · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Fernidand Hodler (1853 - 1918) – Painter (Swiss) Details on Google Art Project
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Ferdinand Hodler · 5 min read

The Woodcutter leaves the wallet

Designed for a fifty-franc note, The Woodcutter gains a different breadth on canvas. Between official commission, changes of format and replicas, Hodler turns a working gesture into a monumental presence.

Featured on October 15, 2026

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Alexandre Calame — Paysage lacustre au soir — Image creditsAlexandre Calame · Paysage lacustre au soir · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Alexandre Calame — « Paysage lacustre au soir ». Another work by the artist, chosen as a visual connection to the story.
Alexandre Calame · Paysage lacustre au soir · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
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Alexandre Calame · 5 min read

Dutch light on Lake Brienz

Calame's Lake Brienz owes something to a journey far from the Alps. After studying the Dutch masters, the painter returns to the Swiss landscape with different tools for guiding light between trees and water.

Featured on October 14, 2026

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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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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.

Featured on October 13, 2026

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François Bocion — Lac et pêcheurs — Image creditsFrançois Bocion · Lac et pêcheurs · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Paradise Chronicle
François Bocion — « Lac et pêcheurs ».
François Bocion · Lac et pêcheurs · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Paradise Chronicle
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François Bocion · 5 min read

When the lake takes first place

In 1885, Bocion keeps the boats, nets and fishermen but gives them less space. A small elongated canvas tells of this shift: on Lake Geneva's French shore, light becomes the true thread guiding the eye.

Featured on October 12, 2026

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Ernest Biéler — Portrait de Nathalie Biéler — Image creditsErnest Biéler · Portrait de Nathalie Biéler · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Ernest Bieler
Ernest Biéler — « Portrait de Nathalie Biéler ».
Ernest Biéler · Portrait de Nathalie Biéler · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Ernest Bieler
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Ernest Biéler · 5 min read

The memory of Manet beneath a parasol

In 1884, Biéler discovers the Manet retrospective in Paris. The following summer, he draws his sister Nathalie in Lausanne. A parasol, an armchair and a pale dress tell how an artistic encounter can continue within a family portrait.

Featured on October 11, 2026

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Alexandre Calame — Orage à la Handeck — Image creditsAlexandre Calame · Orage à la Handeck · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Alexandre Calame — « Orage à la Handeck ». Another work by the artist, chosen as a visual connection to the story.
Alexandre Calame · Orage à la Handeck · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
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Alexandre Calame · 5 min read

The storm we watch from dry ground

The Storm at the Handeck helped make Calame known across Europe. This monumental landscape promises an encounter with the mountains, but its intensity is constructed in the studio: a painted tempest offered to an audience safely in the dry.

Featured on October 10, 2026

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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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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.

Featured on October 9, 2026

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François Bocion — Bocion et sa famille à la pêche — Image creditsFrançois Bocion · Bocion et sa famille à la pêche · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Paradise Chronicle
François Bocion — « Bocion et sa famille à la pêche ».
François Bocion · Bocion et sa famille à la pêche · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Paradise Chronicle
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François Bocion · 5 min read

The painter who steps into his own boat

In 1877, François Bocion joins a family outing on Lake Geneva. This small panel brings together landscape, boating and self-portraiture, inviting viewers to find their place almost at water level.

Featured on October 8, 2026

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Ernest Biéler — Portrait de Violette Scholder — Image creditsErnest Biéler · Portrait de Violette Scholder · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Ernest Bieler
Ernest Biéler — « Portrait de Violette Scholder ». Another work by the artist, chosen as a visual connection to the story.
Ernest Biéler · Portrait de Violette Scholder · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Ernest Bieler
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Ernest Biéler · 5 min read

The woman in blue also had a pen

In Biéler's 1913 portrait, Michelle appears among flowers. She is also a drawing teacher and author of a text defending her husband's art: an intellectual voice behind an image that became famous.

Featured on October 7, 2026

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Alexandre Calame — Torrent de montagne — Image creditsAlexandre Calame · Torrent de montagne · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Alexandre Calame — « Torrent de montagne ». Another work by the artist, chosen as a visual connection to the story.
Alexandre Calame · Torrent de montagne · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
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Alexandre Calame · 5 min read

The drowning man the paint had hidden

A torrent by Calame seemed to contain only a landscape and a few figures on the bank. Research by the Valais Art Museum restored the scene's meaning: a man swept away by the water had been painted over after 1932.

Featured on October 6, 2026

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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.

Featured on October 5, 2026

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François Bocion — Pêcheur à la ligne — Image creditsFrançois Bocion · Pêcheur à la ligne · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Paradise Chronicle
François Bocion — « Pêcheur à la ligne ». Another work by the artist, chosen as a visual connection to the story.
François Bocion · Pêcheur à la ligne · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Paradise Chronicle
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François Bocion · 5 min read

The net that holds the gaze

In Nets and Fishermen, Lake Geneva appears behind a curtain of mesh. Bocion turns rest and the upkeep of equipment into a painting of shade and light, attentive to the daily rhythm of the shores.

Featured on October 4, 2026

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Alice Bailly — Rade de Genève ou Vol de mouettes — Image creditsAlice Bailly · MCBA, Lausanne · Photo Paradise Chronicle / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Alice Bailly — « Rade de Genève ou Vol de mouettes ».
Alice Bailly · MCBA, Lausanne · Photo Paradise Chronicle / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
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Alice Bailly · 5 min read

Alice Bailly: when war closes off Paris and sets the roadstead in motion

Stranded in Switzerland by the war of 1914, Alice Bailly loses access to her supporters in Paris. Yet with Rade de Genève ou Vol de mouettes, she transforms this enforced return into a pictorial manifesto.

Featured on October 1, 2026

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Image creditsHans Erni · Swiss Art Gallery · Photographie de la galerie · Format WebP, dimensions réduites
Hans Erni, Badende (Bathers), a work shown by the gallery. An example of his figurative language.
Hans Erni · Swiss Art Gallery · Photographie de la galerie · Format WebP, dimensions réduites
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Hans Erni · 3 min read

Hans Erni: an avant-garde exhibition before the break

In the spring of 1935, Hans Erni conceived the international exhibition “These, Antithese, Synthese” in Lucerne, devoted to abstraction and Surrealism. Acclaimed by specialists but attracting little public interest, the exhibition took place shortly before his break with the avant-garde and his rapid return to figurative art.

Featured on September 29, 2026

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Sophie Taeuber-Arp — Le roi Deramo, marionnette du Roi Cerf — Image creditsSophie Taeuber-Arp ; photo : Danielle Jansen — CC BY-SA 4.0 (redimensionnement et conversion WebP).
Sophie Taeuber-Arp — « Le roi Deramo, marionnette du Roi Cerf ».
Sophie Taeuber-Arp ; photo : Danielle Jansen — CC BY-SA 4.0 (redimensionnement et conversion WebP).
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Sophie Taeuber-Arp · 4 min read

Sophie Taeuber-Arp: the three performances of King Stag

In September 1918, Sophie Taeuber-Arp transformed an Italian fairy play into geometric theatre. Her seventeen marionettes delighted circles close to Dada, but the management’s scepticism and the Spanish flu limited the play to three performances.

Featured on September 27, 2026

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Alice Bailly — Femme au miroir ou Femme à la toilette — Image creditsAlice Bailly · Photo Uto / Wikimedia Commons · CC0 1.0
Alice Bailly — « Femme au miroir ou Femme à la toilette ». Another work by the artist, chosen as a visual connection to the story.
Alice Bailly · Photo Uto / Wikimedia Commons · CC0 1.0
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Alice Bailly · 2 min read

Alice Bailly: when wool claims its place among the fine arts

In Geneva, during the First World War, Alice Bailly transforms wool and silk threads and metallic papers into paintings. With Les rythmiciennes, this technique, regarded as a craft, becomes a pictorial manifesto.

Featured on September 25, 2026

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Alberto Giacometti — Buste de Diego — Image creditsAlberto Giacometti · Buste de Diego · Image : Galerie Kornfeld Auktionen
Alberto Giacometti — « Buste de Diego ». A work by the artist, selected for its visual connection to the story.
Alberto Giacometti · Buste de Diego · Image : Galerie Kornfeld Auktionen
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Alberto Giacometti · 5 min read

Diego, always to be recognised anew

A Bust of Diego made around 1954 bears the first name of Giacometti’s brother. Yet his familiar presence does not end the exploration: volume obliges visitors to rediscover the face with every change of viewpoint.

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Alberto Giacometti — Sculptures dans l’atelier — Image creditsAlberto Giacometti · Sculptures dans l’atelier · Image : Galerie Kornfeld Auktionen
Alberto Giacometti — « Sculptures dans l’atelier ». A work by the artist, selected for its visual connection to the story.
Alberto Giacometti · Sculptures dans l’atelier · Image : Galerie Kornfeld Auktionen
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Alberto Giacometti · 5 min read

The cage of 1949 that holds without closing space

Giacometti began a new cage composition in 1949. The figure, head and open structure give this sculpture a space where visitors can see limits without ceasing to look through them.

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Alberto Giacometti — Homme debout — Image creditsAlberto Giacometti · Homme debout · Image : Galerie Kornfeld Auktionen
Alberto Giacometti — « Homme debout ». A work by the artist, selected for its visual connection to the story.
Alberto Giacometti · Homme debout · Image : Galerie Kornfeld Auktionen
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Alberto Giacometti · 5 min read

The walker who found his place in a courtyard

The large sculptures conceived for the Chase Manhattan Bank were not installed there. Walking Man continues its history at the Fondation Maeght, where Giacometti himself adjusted relationships between the bronzes and their surroundings.

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Alberto Giacometti — Tête de Diego sur socle — Image creditsAlberto Giacometti · Tête de Diego sur socle · Image : Galerie Kornfeld Auktionen
Alberto Giacometti — « Tête de Diego sur socle ». A work by the artist, selected for its visual connection to the story.
Alberto Giacometti · Tête de Diego sur socle · Image : Galerie Kornfeld Auktionen
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Alberto Giacometti · 5 min read

The nose that never stays inside its cage

Giacometti’s The Nose seems an immediate image, but its versions evolve from 1947 to 1964. The suspended head and metal frame tell of an exploration in which sculpture’s limits remain open.

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Cuno Amiet — La Récolte des pommes, sgraffito de la façade du Kunstmuseum Bern — Image creditsCuno Amiet · La Récolte des pommes, 1936 · Kunstmuseum Bern · Photographie Andreas Praefcke / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0
Cuno Amiet — « La Récolte des pommes, sgraffito de la façade du Kunstmuseum Bern ». Another work by the artist, chosen as a visual connection to the story.
Cuno Amiet · La Récolte des pommes, 1936 · Kunstmuseum Bern · Photographie Andreas Praefcke / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0
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Cuno Amiet · 5 min read

The harvest where everything turns red

In 1912, Amiet brought three women and fruit together in an almost entirely red range. The harvest held in Solothurn transforms rural work into an exercise in colour of great intensity.

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Cuno Amiet — Skifahrer — Skieurs — Image creditsCuno Amiet · Skifahrer — Skieurs · Image : Auktionshaus Zofingen
Cuno Amiet — « Skifahrer — Skieurs ». A work by the artist, selected for its visual connection to the story.
Cuno Amiet · Skifahrer — Skieurs · Image : Auktionshaus Zofingen
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Cuno Amiet · 5 min read

A skier small enough to make the whole winter grow

Amiet’s Great Winter gives snow an immense surface. In this 1904 painting, a dark skier and his track are enough to transform the whites into a space the gaze must cross.

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Félix Vallotton — Le Bain — Image creditsFélix Vallotton · Le Bain · Wikimedia Commons · CC0 · Félix Vallotton / André Édouard Marty
Félix Vallotton — « Le Bain ». Another work by the artist, chosen as a visual connection to the story.
Félix Vallotton · Le Bain · Wikimedia Commons · CC0 · Félix Vallotton / André Édouard Marty
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Félix Vallotton · 5 min read

The bath that made a Salon laugh

Bathing on a Summer Evening was shown at the Indépendants in 1893 and provoked laughter. Yet this group of bathers gave Vallotton the means for a singular painting in which bodies and setting resist tranquil viewing.

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Giovanni Segantini — Les Deux Mères — Image creditsGiovanni Segantini · Les Deux Mères · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Giovanni Segantini — « Les Deux Mères ».
Giovanni Segantini · Les Deux Mères · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
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Giovanni Segantini · 5 min read

Two maternities in the light of a single stable

With The Two Mothers, Segantini brings a woman and her child close to a cow and her calf. This 1889 painting, held in Milan, makes sharing space a relationship stronger than any spectacular action.

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Giovanni Segantini — Les Mauvaises Mères — Image creditsGiovanni Segantini · Les Mauvaises Mères · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Giovanni Segantini — « Les Mauvaises Mères ».
Giovanni Segantini · Les Mauvaises Mères · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
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Giovanni Segantini · 5 min read

The tree that ceases to be a simple landscape

In The Evil Mothers of 1894, Segantini brings human figures into an unsettling winter landscape. The Belvedere has related this work to the history of trees in art, revealing the strength of the motif carrying the scene.

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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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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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