Albert Anker’s view of childhood at the Fondation Gianadda
Published: Thursday, Feb 1st 2024, 17:01
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"Anker and Childhood" is the title of the new exhibition at the Fondation Pierre Gianadda. The show presents Albert Anker (1831-1910) as one of the most important creators of depictions of children in 19th century painting.
"There are few painters who have dealt with the subject of childhood as consistently and profoundly as Albert Anker," Matthias Frehner, curator of the exhibition, told the Keystone-SDA news agency. Of the 796 inventoried paintings and oil studies created by the artist from the Bernese Seeland between 1848 and 1902, around 500 depict children, according to the museum.
Albert Anker, who is said to have been an exemplary father, cultivated a close relationship with his family. He was fascinated by childhood in general. "He doesn't use children to describe a nostalgic situation; he doesn't project an adult's view of childhood; he doesn't expose it in a voyeuristic or lascivious way," said Frehner. Rather, Anker wanted to capture the psychological development at different ages. "His little models are not objects."
Documentary and timeless
Characteristic of Anker's depictions is "that the children are completely immersed in their world at the moment he observes them. They are in their own universe and reveal their true state of mind, their joy, their sorrow, their sadness," says the curator of the exhibition.
From this point of view, the paintings are documentary and timeless: "All these scenes are credible, observed with extreme precision; the movements and expressions correspond exactly to the behavior of children of the same age today."
128 children's pictures are shown
Individual portraits, children playing or learning alone or with others, accompanied by their grandparents, as extras at historical events or in genre scenes: "Anker and Childhood" shows 128 of these works. In addition, works on paper by the artist are on display - studies that allow the creation of the paintings to be traced. Frehner also described them as "a rich legacy that demonstrates both Anker's technical mastery and his artistic sensibility".
The list of collections and institutions providing works for the exhibition is long. They come from the collection of Christoph Blocher, the art museums of Bern and Solothurn, the Musée cantonal des beaux-arts in Lausanne and the museums of art and history in Aarau and Neuchâtel - and not least from the municipality of Ins, where Alber Anker lived.
The exhibition "Anker and Childhood" runs until June 30.
©Keystone/SDA
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