Swiss painting from the XIX century

Posted on February 14, 2011 by Andy Renmei

Curiously, the painters I selected for this post used to depict the magic of youth. Due to the perfection of the bodies, the chromatic palletes and the centralization of the protagonists in the composition, we can say that some swiss painters from the XIX century were inspired by the Renaissance, which had happened two centuries before.

Daphnis Et Chloe Revenant De La Montagne, by Charles Gleyre

The body idealization, the vertical construction, the fabric, the irrelevance of the background… Pure Neoclassicism.

Le Coucher de Sapho, by Charles Gleyre

Die kleine Kartoffelschälerin, by Albert Anker

Evidently influenced by Veermer (due to the striking lighting coming from a lateral window) and very well crafted, this may be the most famous painting by Anker.

The Spirit of the Morning, by Fritz Zuber-Buhler

Auf dem Ofen, by Fritz Zuber-Buhler

Young Girl Holding a Doll, by Albert Anker

Anker transfered the soul of a mature lady into a little girl’s body. Look at her pose and confident stare!

Schlafender Knabe im Heu, by Albert Anker

The blue and the green work perfectly together. The boy’s foreshortening position not only emphasizes the perspective but is also essential for the composition to be more “eye-appealing”.