Sunlight in the blue room
In this painting, Anna and Michael Ancher’s daughter, Helga Ancher, sits crocheting. Helga is seated in the blue room at Brøndum’s Hotel, where her grandmother, Ane Brøndum often sat. As in many of Anna Ancher’s works, there is no real action, instead it is the play of light in the room and the contrast of the blue and yellow hues in the image that are the themes of the painting. The sunlight almost materializes on the blue wall to the left of Helga, who is deeply immersed in her crocheting. Anna Ancher’s subjects are often so absorbed by their tasks that they are not aware of the presence of the viewer. In the top left corner of the painting hangs a picture of the Virgin Mary, who seems to direct her gaze at Helga. The painting was exhibited for the first time at the annual Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition in 1892.
