Michael Ancher: The Lifeboat is Taken through the Dunes (1883)

(Statens Museum of Art, Copenhagen, Denmark)

A painting by the Danish artist Michael Peter Ancher (1849 – 1927). Ancher is best known for his realistic painting of the people of Skagen (a small fishing village in the far north of Jutland where the Baltic and North Sea converge). As this part of the Skagerrak is very treacherous, the fishermen also acted as rescue services. On the painting the fisherman are preparing their lifeboat with the ship in distress can be seen in the back. The painting is part of a set of 4 dedicated to the heroic rescue service of the Skagen fishermen. Painting from 1883.