Albert Anker

A blonde girl stands before a pale wall, dressed in a skirt and apron with a basket on one arm and a large, round loaf of bread under the other. The basket contains further items that have been wrapped, while the red spine of a book peeks above its rim. The painting, clearly staged and painted in the studio, is as much a study of vertical and horizontal stripes in clothing and basketry as it is one of the girl’s earnest undertaking of her errand, namely the taking of a loaf of bread home. Within the modulations of a predominantly yellowish-white color composition, accents are provided by the golden-brown bread and, in the basket, the blue package and the red spine of the book. The same colors are to likewise be found in the red cheeks, the golden blonde hair, and the blue eyes of the girl’s delicate face. In writing about Albert Anker’s exhibition at Kunsthalle Bern in 1928 (Schweizer Monatshefte für Politik und Kultur, vol. 8, issue 7, 1928–1929), Bernhard Geister stated: “Among the most beautiful imagery that Anker has left us are his portraits of children. His love for children was infinite. He easily gained their favor using kind words and gingerbread or other sweets, and even the most fidgety of them relaxed under his benevolent gaze when he asked them to sit as a model for a quarter of an hour. You can never tire of looking at these delicate children’s faces.”