Jacob Sømme

Michael Ancher prints bring the fishermen, dunes and bright northern light of Skagen, at the very tip of Denmark, into your home. Ancher was one of the leading Skagen Painters, known for heroic scenes of fishermen and lifeboat crews and for warm portraits of family and friends. Our collection of fine art prints covers his sea rescues, beach strolls, portraits of his wife Anna Ancher, and many studies of Skagen people.

About Michael Ancher

Michael Peter Ancher was born on 9 June 1849 at Rutsker on the Baltic island of Bornholm, the son of a merchant. His father's money troubles forced him to leave school early, and in 1865 he became a clerk at Kalø Manor in Jutland. There he met the painters Theodor Philipsen and Vilhelm Groth, who encouraged him to paint. He entered the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen in 1871 but left in 1875 without graduating.

His friend Karl Madsen invited him to Skagen, a fishing village where the Skagerrak and the North Sea meet. From his first visit in 1874 he became a key member of the group of artists who gathered there each summer at the Brøndums Hotel. In 1880 he married the painter Anna Brøndum, daughter of the hotel's owner; their daughter Helga was born in 1883, and in 1884 they bought the house that is now the Anchers Hus museum.

His breakthrough came with Will He Round the Point? in 1879, followed by The Lifeboat Is Taken through the Dunes (1883), The Crew Rescued (1894) and The Drowned Fisherman (1896). He received the Eckersberg Medal in 1889 and the Order of the Dannebrog in 1894. He died in Skagen on 19 September 1927. Anna and Michael Ancher later appeared together on the Danish 1000-kroner banknote.

Style and Subjects

Ancher's best-known paintings show the fishermen of Skagen as heroes: men in oilskins and sou'westers watching the sea, launching boats or hauling a lifeboat through the dunes. He combined the strict composition he learned at the Academy with the naturalism and fresh colour his wife Anna brought to his work.

He was also a fine portraitist. His pictures of Anna, of fellow artists and of local people are relaxed and full of light, and his beach scenes, such as A Stroll on the Beach, capture the bright summer atmosphere of Skagen.

Famous Works

• Will He Round the Point? (1879), Skagens Museum. Fishermen on the beach watching a boat in danger, his breakthrough picture.
• Fishermen Launching a Rowing Boat (1881), Skagens Museum. Men pushing a boat into the surf.
• The Lifeboat Is Taken through the Dunes (1883), Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen. A rescue crew hauling their boat across the sand.
• Portrait of My Wife (1884), Hirschsprung Collection, Copenhagen. Anna Ancher, painted soon after their marriage.
• A Girl with Sunflowers (1889), Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen. A young woman shelling seeds among tall sunflowers.
• The Drowned Fisherman (1896), Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen. Mourners gathered around a drowned fisherman.
• A Stroll on the Beach (1896), Skagens Museum. Fashionable walkers on Skagen's beach on a bright day.
• Christmas Day 1900 (1903), Skagens Museum. A festive family gathering.

Decorating with Ancher Prints

Ancher's fishermen and lifeboat scenes are a natural fit for a coastal home, a den or a study, where their blues, greys and sandy tones suit nautical and Scandinavian interiors. A large rescue scene makes a strong focal point above a sofa or fireplace.

His sunny beach pictures and portraits of Anna, like The Artist's Wife Reading, are lovely in a bedroom, reading nook or sunroom.

FAQ

Who were the Skagen Painters?

They were a group of Scandinavian artists who gathered each summer in the fishing village of Skagen in northern Denmark from the 1870s. Michael Ancher, Anna Ancher and P.S. Krøyer were among the best known.

What is Michael Ancher's most famous painting?

Will He Round the Point? (1879), his breakthrough, and The Lifeboat Is Taken through the Dunes (1883) are his best-known pictures of Skagen's fishermen.

Was Michael Ancher married to Anna Ancher?

Yes. He married the Skagen-born painter Anna Brøndum in 1880. She is now one of Denmark's best-loved painters, and their home in Skagen is the Anchers Hus museum.

Where can I see Michael Ancher's paintings?

The Skagens Museum and the Anchers Hus in Skagen, the Statens Museum for Kunst and the Hirschsprung Collection in Copenhagen, and the Ribe Art Museum all hold his work.

Related Artists

• Anna Ancher: his wife and fellow Skagen Painter
• Peder Severin Krøyer: leading Skagen Painter who arranged the paintings in the Brøndums Hotel dining room
• Laurits Andersen Ring: Danish painter whose portrait Ancher painted in 1892
• Viggo Johansen: Skagen Painter whom Ancher painted in his studio in 1875
• Theodor Philipsen: painter who encouraged him to take up art