Still Life: Two Glasses of Red Wine, a Bottle of Wine, a Corkscrew and a Plate of Biscuits on a Tray 

Albrecht Anker painted this still life with oil on canvas, though we don’t know exactly when. This Swiss artist, who lived from 1831 to 1910, was celebrated in his own time as a painter of everyday life, and in this image, we see how the rituals of bourgeois life became a subject for art. Switzerland in the 19th century was undergoing significant social and economic changes as it moved towards industrialization and a more integrated national identity. Anker's choice of domestic scenes and still life speaks to the values of stability and tradition in a rapidly changing world. Images like these reflected, and helped to constitute, an idea of Swiss identity rooted in the values of the home. To better understand Anker’s world, we can turn to the historical record: political documents, newspapers, and the writings of social commentators. Only then we can reveal the complex interplay between art, identity, and social change.