Andreas Achenbach

Andreas Achenbach

pseudonym: -

birth data

date of birth: 1815

place of birth: Kassel

death data

date of death: 1910

death: Düsseldorf

biography

Andreas Achenbach together with his younger brother Oswald Achenbach is considered as one of the most important representatives of landscape painting of the 19th century. Andreas Achenbach was born in Kassel in 1815. At the age of 12, he became a student of the Düsseldorf Art Academy. Two years later, he was one of the exhibiting artists. While on study trips with his father in 1832 and 1833 to Rotterdam and Amsterdam, the young painter occupied himself extensively with Dutch landscape painting and eventually seascapes became the primary theme of his oeuvre. This was followed by a short apprenticeship in Düsseldorf under Johann Wilhelm Schirmer and a move to Munich in 1835. In the same year, Achenbach travelled to Denmark, Norway and Sweden, where he created numerous nature studies. In 1836 he travelled to the Bavarian Alps and Tyrol. The first stay in Italy from 1843 until 1845 influenced both the colour scheme and his style of painting, thus he finally abandoned the rigor of the classical landscape painting. In Campagna and on Capri, his image design became freer. In 1846, Achenbach returned to Düsseldorf and became a member of numerous artists associations. In 1848 he was a founding member of the artist association "Malkasten". His accession to the Prussian Order Pour le Mérite for Science and the Arts in 1881 and his nomination as honorary citizen of Düsseldorf in 1885 were further highlights of his career. In 1910, Andreas Achenbach died as a respected citizen and revered painter in Dusseldorf. His works can be found in renowned collections such as the Neue Pinakothek in Munich, the Städel Museum in Frankfurt am Main and the Nationalgalerie in Berlin.