Albert Anker 001 - The Yorck Project Masterpieces of Painting

Albert Anker (1831–1910) was a Swiss painter and illustrator whose enduring popularity in his home country earned him the moniker of “the national painter of Switzerland.” Born on April 1, 1831 in Ins, Switzerland, he attended the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris and went on to set up his studio in his parents’ attic. He found success both at home and abroad, and was awarded a gold medal at the Paris Salon for Sleeping Girl in Walde (1865), a charming depiction of a young woman lying peacefully in a grass bed under a tree. He was perhaps best known for his still lifes, including the photographically realistic Still Life: Tea Set (1866) and Still Life: Excess (1896), which presents a table of half-eaten food after a meal. In 1878, he was made a knight of the Légion d'honneur in France. He died on July 16, 1910 in Ins, Switzerland from a stroke, and posthumously the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire in Neuchâtel held the first museum exposition dedicated to his work.