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Michael Ancher (b. Bornholm 1849, d. Skagen 1927)

Fishermen in Brøndum's shop. Signed and dated Michael Ancher 18. Oil on canvas. 98×124 cm.

Presumably exhibited at Charlottenborg 1919 no. 18 with the title “Fiskere i en Krostue” (Fishermen in an inn).

On 13 July 1874 in the afternoon, a young man arrives in Skagen. He is tired after the long journey and asks for the inn. A little later, he is finally with merchant and innkeeper Brøndum's family, who have settled in the garden house after the old inn burned down. The young man's name is Michael Ancher, and in his book about the painter “Michael Ancher”, 2000, Claus Jacobsen writes about the artist's impression of the place: “- At one end there was a shop and an inn for fishermen, at the other a taproom for other people and a small guest room where exactly 2 beds and a washstand could stand; best to dress in the bed. Besides, there were three other rooms, one with 2 and two with 1 bed. That was enough for the needs of those times. But the house and the garden were pleasant and the stay cost only two kroner a day.” As is well known, the meeting with Brøndum's Bod (shop) and the local people of Skagen was to become a turning point for Ancher's artistic career. Privately, too, the meeting with the Brøndum family was fateful: The young daughter Anna and the painter immediately took a liking to each other and in 1878 they became engaged. Brøndum's Bod (shop) was thus to become a focal point in Ancher's life, and the painter also liked to depict life here as it unfolded in the small but atmospheric taproom.

Provenance: Bruun Rasmussen auction 622, 1996 no. 363. Bruun Rasmussen auction 627, 1996 no. 248.

Additional Remarks

Please note: The item is subject to the Anti-Money Laundering Act. In the event of a hammer price of DKK 50,000 or more, including buyer’s premium, the buyer must submit a copy of a valid photo ID and proof of address in order to collect the item.

Auction

Northern Light – The Artists' Colony at Skagen, 10 June 2024

Category
Estimate

400,000–500,000 DKK

Price realised

Not sold