Fondation Gianadda lectures

Albert Anker was a Swiss painter who, although deeply rooted in his time, chose to depict it as an idyllic period void of the vileness of the world. He portrayed the people of Switzerland who, despite the major upheavals of the late 19th century, continued to trust in the future. His paintings were never intended to carry a political message, nor any realism denouncing social injustices. On the contrary, Anker painted pictures of harmony between the generations. With strokes of the brush he described a Switzerland of well-behaved children, melancholic grandparents, conscientious tradespeople and the day-to-day lives of people going quietly about their occupations. He chose to outline the calm after the storm rather than the fury of the battlefield.
The Gianadda Foundation invites visitors to admire this artist's work on childhood. As an exemplary father who had deeply suffered from the loss of two young children, Anker took great interest in his descendants and his own self-fulfilment which he nourished through the warm, loving relationships he maintained with them.
He excelled in this topic which revealed him to the art world as a key figure in the field of children's portraits.