“Blåregn”. Wisteria. Unsigned. Oil on canvas. 52×42 cm.

“Blåregn”. Wisteria. Unsigned. Oil on canvas. 52×42 cm. Provenance: The artist's daughter, Helga Ancher, her estate auction, Bruun Rasmussen 193, 1966 no. 171. A stamp from here on the reverse of the canvas. Anna Ancher often produced small oil sketches in which she experimented with light, form, colour and, not least, composition and cropping - frequently achieving surprising and unconventional results that nevertheless remain deeply connected to her ongoing fascination with the effects of light and colour. The present study of flowering wisteria is a particularly beautiful example of this approach. Here, Anna Ancher moves very close to her subject - almost into the wisteria itself - and, through small, swift, impasto brushstrokes, captures the blue-violet blossoms and lush green foliage so that the entire motif seems to vibrate with light and colour. Amid the dense flowering, a window may be discerned. Is it a branch glimpsed through the glass from within the room, or merely the reflection of the garden’s vegetation upon the pane? The composition is equally remarkable and reveals the influence of Japanese art, which fascinated Anna Ancher, much as it did many of the French Impressionists. Rarely does one encounter a work in which she approaches the subject at such close range. This is an unsigned study, sold at the Helga Ancher (1883–1964) estate auction, and perhaps a work the artist did not consider entirely finished — or could simply not bear to part with. For that very reason, it remains today a compelling testament to Anna Ancher’s playful and experimental approach to painting, as well as to her tireless preoccupation with light and colour.