In 1836, at the age of five, Albert Anker (1831, Bern – 1910, Bern) received his first drawing lessons from Frédéric-Wilhelm Moritz and Louis Wallinger. In 1851, Anker made his first trip to Paris, where he created replicas of Old Masters in the Louvre. He then began to study theology, which he abandoned in 1853 to become a painter. In Paris, he studied at the Ecole Impériale et Spéciale des Beaux-Arts from 1855 to 1860. From 1859 to 1885, his paintings were regularly on display at the prestigious Paris Salon. From 1870 to 1874, Anker was a member of the Grand Council of the Canton of Bern, where he campaigned for the construction of the Bern Art Museum, which opened in 1873. In 1890 he gave up his residence in Paris and moved to his former parental home in Ins. In 1990 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Bern.
Albert Anker is one of the most popular Swiss genre-painters of the 19th century. The popularity of Anker's work, which remains undiminished to this day, is based on a general and broader understanding, which is why the artist is often referred to as the "national painter". His main subjects include children at play, school attendance, activities such as reading and learning, and domestic pursuits following traditional gender roles such as knitting and weaving. His interest in people was always at the forefront. Among his favourite models were his own children.