Anna Ancher returning from the fields

Anna Ancher Returning from the Fields, painted in 1902 and held at the Skagens Museum, depicts Michael Ancher's wife and fellow painter in an outdoor setting, returning from the heath or fields surrounding Skagen. The image is unusual in presenting Anna — normally the subject of interior and studio portraits — as a figure in the open landscape. The work captures something of Anna Ancher's character: she was not a figure who kept to interiors but a woman who moved through the Skagen landscape with ease and authority. Michael's decision to show her outdoors reflects his knowledge of her complete personality.

The outdoor setting requires Ancher to handle the relationship between figure and open landscape, the quality of light on Anna's face and clothing adjusted for exterior conditions rather than the controlled lighting of portrait convention. His handling of the Skagen landscape behind the figure shows the assured touch of decades of outdoor observation.