The Funen Painters’ colony was tight-knit. At the beginning of the 20th century, when the group first started meeting in Møllebakken, a small town in western Denmark, there were only six members—Peter Hansen; Johannes Larsen, his sister, Christine, and his wife, Alhed; Fritz Syberg and Fritz’s wife, Anna (who was Hansen’s sister). They abandoned the rigid traditions of the Danish Academy while venturing into the teachings of Kristian Zahrtmann, who studied naturalism and realism. Anna Syberg painted elegant watercolors of the flowers and plants around her home. She sketched lines in pencil on paper, then added color in transparent veils of paint. The final step saw delicate contouring with black ink. Technical skill was of the upmost importance. Today, the largest collection of Syberg’s work is held at the Hirschsprung. —E.C.