In Denmark Anna Ancher (1859−1935) is one of the best-known and most popular artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As a member of the prominent Skagen artists’ colony, she played a major role in the development of realistic and impressionist movements in Scandinavian painting around 1900.
Her work was characterised by a highly innovative treatment of light and colour. The way Anna Ancher depicted light reflections and shadows in numerous genre and landscape paintings is nothing short of superb. Ahead of her time, she eventually arrived at an abstracting formal vocabulary. The selection of works presented in this show offers extensive insights into Anna Ancher’s social life and everyday goings-on in Skagen.
In 2020 and 2021 the Danish museums Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen and the Skagens Kunstmuseer as well as the Lillehammer Kunstmuseum in Norway already devoted the most comprehensive monographic presentations to date to Anna Ancher. The MKdW draws on this touring exhibition by presenting about 80 oil paintings and oil sketches. Owning the largest collection in Germany of works produced at the Skagen artists’ colony, it aims to familiarise a broad public with the work of Anna Ancher.
The exhibition is under the patronage of Karin Prien, Schleswig-Holstein’s Minister of Education, Science and Culture, and H. E. Susanne Hyldelund, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Denmark to Germany. A catalogue in German and English is published in conjunction with the exhibition.
