Portrait of the Artist’s fiancée Anna Brøndum
Michael Ancher’s first encounter with his fiancée can be dated to the summer of 1874, the decisive year when Ancher visited Skagen for the first time. Like all other visitors of the time, he stayed at Brøndum’s Inn, and came into contact with the Brøndum family.
In the portrait, Ancher demonstrates his talent as a portrait artist, and the painter’s interest and affection for the model is palpable. Anna’s gaze is steely and serious, but also heartfelt and warm. The portrait is influenced by Renaissance portraiture, particularly Dutch painting of the 1600s, where Johannes Vermeer (1632-75) was a great source of inspiration for the Danish painter. Anna and Michael Ancher visited Holland in 1885 and saw several of the old Dutch masters.
