Stillleben: Neuer Wein

This 1890 canvas by Albert Anker dates from a decade when the artist, in his late fifties, was sustaining a prolific output while his public reputation reached its fullest extent. The 1890s were a period of consolidation rather than radical change for Anker — he continued to paint the subjects and places that had defined his career, deepening rather than abandoning his established approach. Swiss modernism was beginning to emerge in these years, but Anker remained committed to naturalist figuration, and his continued success demonstrated that there was a substantial audience for his kind of careful, warm, observational painting. Whatever the specific subject of this canvas, it would reflect the ease and authority of a painter working at full command of his means.

By 1890 Anker's technique is as refined as it would ever be — the paint surface immaculate, the drawing assured, the tonal relationships the result of decades of practice. His palette in this period, slightly cooler than in the 1870s, suggests some awareness of Impressionist colour theory without abandoning the tonal structures of academic training. Texture handling remains one of his great strengths.