Exhibited: Charlottenborg 1926 no. 12.

Provenance: Bruun Rasmussen auction 688, 2000 no. 1478.

An oil sketch (measuring 19×24 cm and painted on cardboard) for this painting can be found at The Art Museums of Skagen (Inv. No. 1201).

Anna Ancher was a pioneer in Danish art and is considered to be the most modern of the Skagen painters. A recurring theme in Ancher’s art is her fascination with light. She was concerned with depicting the flow of sunlight into the room, and she has been praised for her unique ability to capture the materiality of light through vibrating colours and brushstrokes. With her focus on colours, surfaces and light rather than narrative content, her work points towards modernism and abstract art. In the present painting, Ancher has depicted a quiet moment in the living room, where a grandmother takes care of her grandchildren. Here, too, she has masterfully captured the light that flows in through the airy curtains in the window and creates a beautiful play of colour on the surface of the table.