Selfportrait

Selfportrait, painted in 1903 and now at the Hungarian National Gallery in Budapest, shows that Ancher's reputation extended well beyond Scandinavia — this work entered the Hungarian collection through the international exhibition circuit that brought Scandinavian art to wider European attention in the early twentieth century. The 1903 self-portrait dates from a period when Ancher's fame was established but when he continued painting Skagen's fishermen and community with undiminished commitment. The existence of this work in Budapest testifies to the international reach of the Skagen painters' reputation during their own lifetimes.

Ancher's self-portrait of 1903 shows a painter who has resolved the technical and compositional challenges of the genre through decades of portrait practice. The handling is confident without being showy — the face rendered with the same tonal logic as all his portrait subjects, the expression open and unperformed.