Girl peeling potatoes

Albert Anker's 'Girl Peeling Potatoes' (1886) is a characteristic domestic labor subject — the potato peeling as one of the most common of kitchen tasks, its repetitive character and the absorbed concentration it demanded making it a natural genre subject for painters interested in the honest documentation of domestic working life. Anker's engagement with the working activities of Swiss village life encompassed the full range of domestic tasks, and his girl peeling potatoes connected him to the tradition of Chardin's kitchen subjects while placing the activity in the specific context of the Bernese Mittelland village.

Anker renders the potato-peeling girl with his characteristic warm, honest observation — the specific physical activity of peeling depicted with accuracy, the girl's absorption in the repetitive task creating the psychological interiority that distinguished his best genre work. His warm palette and gentle light handling give the domestic scene its atmosphere of quiet, productive everyday life. The potato and peelings on the table provide the still-life element within the figure subject.