To mark the opening of the Centre Albert Anker in Ins, Switzerland, the Kunstmuseum Bern is presenting a concentrated exhibition on the motif of the reading girl by Albert Anker (1831-1919). The exhibition thus focuses on a little-known facet of Anker's work: his commitment as an educational politician to the education of girls
Then as now, reading girls are a sign that a society is investing in the education of women and thus wants 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 young people immersed and absorbed in an inner world of fantasy. Because the right to education for girls was controversial in his time, Anker's political and artistic preoccupation with it can be seen as a contribution to equal rights for women in Switzerland. This thesis, together with selected loans and works from the museum's own collection, form the Anker focus of the Kunstmuseum Bern on the occasion of the opening of the Albert Anker Center in Ins.
March 22 to July 21, 2024
