Andreas Achenbach (29 September 1815 – 1 April 1910) was a German landscape and seascape painter in the Romantic style. He is considered to be one of the founders of the Düsseldorf School. His brother, Oswald, was also a well known landscape painter. Together, based on their initials, they were known as the "Alpha and Omega" of landscape painters.

Biography

Achenbach's father Hermann (1783–1849) was a merchant by trade but worked a number of professions. In 1816, he became the manager of a metal factory in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

. Two years later, Achenbach's family moved to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

where his father wanted to set up a factory with the money that his mother had received as an inheritance. It was here that he took his first drawing lessons. The project failed and they returned to

Rhine Province The Rhine Province (), also known as Rhenish Prussia () or synonymous with the Rhineland (), was the westernmost Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822 to 1946. ...

in 1823. Soon, his father had established a brewery in Düsseldorf, with an inn that was frequented by the local art community. There, in 1827, Achenbach began his artistic education in earnest, attending the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, where he studied with Friedrich Wilhelm Schadow and

Heinrich Christoph Kolbe Heinrich Christoph Kolbe (2 April 1771 – 16 January 1836) was a German painter. He is associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting. Life Kolbe was born and died in Düsseldorf. After his education at the 'old' Kunstakademie Düssel ...

. In 1831, aged only sixteen, he participated in a local exhibition and sold one painting. The following year, he studied landscape painting with Johann Wilhelm Schirmer. Andreas Achenbach

He then took a study trip to the Netherlands and achieved success in 1836, at an exhibition in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, where one of his paintings was purchased by the Governor of

, Prince Frederick. After a tour of

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

and Tyrolia, he settled in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

and, with the assistance of Alfred Rethel, opened a studio at the Städelsche Kunstinstitut. He travelled continuously throughout Scandinavia and Italy, often in the company of his brother, and they both became regular visitors to

Ostend Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...

. He returned home for the family business in 1846. That year, he took over the brewery and inn. His father, although technically retired, became a free-lance accountant. In 1848, he married Marie Louise Hubertine Catharine Lichtschlag (1827–1889), also known as Luise. They had five children. Their second child, Maximilian, became an opera singer, known under the name Max Alvary. Achenbach was one of the founding members of an art association known as " Malkasten" (The Paint Box), and helped them acquire the former estate of the Jacobi family in Pempelfort, which was turned into the " Malkastenpark"; now a National Monument. He took very few students other than his brother, notably Albert Flamm, Marcus Larson, Apollinary Goravsky and William Stanley Haseltine. He received many honors throughout his life including the Order of leopold (1848),

Order of Saint Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus (, ), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Poniatowski of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It remained under the Congress Poland, Kingdom of Pola ...

(1861) and the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

(1878). He became an honorary member of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 1853 and a member of the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in 1862. In 1885, he was named an honorary citizen of Düsseldorf. When he died, he was a given a grand viewing and ceremony at Malkasten house. He was buried in a magnificent tomb with a sculpture by Karl Janssen. There is a street, the "Achenbachweg" named after him in .Erwin Dickhoff: ''Familien, Bürger und Personen im Spiegel Essener Straßennamen''. Stadt Essen, Essen 1968, pg.9.

Selected paintings

File:Andreas Achenbach - Clearing Up—Coast of Sicily - Walters 37116.jpg, ''Clearing Up—Coast of Sicily'', 1847,

The Walters Art Museum The Walters Art Museum is a public art museum located in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. Founded and opened in 1934, it holds collections from the mid-19th century that were amassed substantially by major American art an ...

File:Andreas Achenbach Wildbach.jpg, ''Wildbach'' File:Andreas Achenbach - Küstenlandschaft mit Stadtansicht.jpg, ''Küstenlandschaft mit Stadtansicht'', 1875 File:Achenbach, Andreas - Westfälische Wassermühle.jpg, ''Watermill in

Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...

'', 1863 File:MK 17354 Andreas Achenbach-Ein Seesturm an der norwegischen Küste.jpg, ''Storm on the sea at the Norwegian coast'', 1837,

Städel The Städel, officially the ''Städelsches Kunstinstitut und Städtische Galerie'', is an art museum in Frankfurt, with one of the most important collections in Germany. The museum is located at the Museumsufer on the Sachsenhausen bank of t ...

Museum File:Retrieving the stern boat, by Andreas Achenbach.jpg, ''Retrieving the stern boat'', 1842

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Achenbach, Andreas 1815 births 1910 deaths Artists from the Electorate of Hesse People from the Electorate of Hesse 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists German landscape painters German male painters German marine artists German romantic painters Düsseldorf school of painting Kunstakademie Düsseldorf alumni Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class) Knights of the Legion of Honour

Biography

Selected paintings

References

Further reading

External links