Old Man Taking A Rest 1901

Albrecht Anker painted this scene of an old man resting, we don't know when but, presumably, it's sometime between 1831 and 1910. You know, he's got this worn apron and a half-eaten piece of bread in his hand, and he's just taking a swig from a glass. The muted browns and greys give off a feeling of quiet solitude. I bet Anker was thinking about the simple moments in life when he made this – the ones where you just pause and take stock. I’m thinking about the way that Anker has built up the paint to create texture in the man’s clothes and the dog's fur, it almost makes you want to reach out and touch them. It's as if he's inviting us into this humble, intimate moment. And that dog! Staring up as if to say, 'Hey, what about me?' It kind of reminds me of Courbet's realism, focusing on the everyday lives of ordinary people. These artists are having a dialogue across time, each one building on the other's insights.