Albert Anker. Reading girls

Reading girls, both then and now, are a sign of a society investing in the education of women and thus wanting to improve their economic and social status. Albert Anker (1831–1910) was not only concerned with the education of children as a politician, but as a painter he often depicted girls and young women reading and writing. His works show the immersion of young people and their absorption in an inner world of fantasy. Because the right to education for girls was controversial in his time, Anker’s political as well as artistic preoccupation can be understood as a contribution to equal rights for women in Switzerland. This thesis, supported by works from the museum’s own collection and selected loans, will be presented as the Anker focus of the Kunstmuseum Bern on the occasion of the opening of the Centre Albert Anker in Ins.