An important landscape painter of the Düsseldorf school of painting of the 19th century was Oswald Achenbach. As professor for landscape painting he led one of the master classes of the Düsseldorf Art Academy in 1866/1867, which produced many famous painters such as Gregor von Bochmann, Themistocles von Eckenbrecher or Louis Kolitz. Already at the age of 8 years Achenbach himself was accepted as a student of the elementary class of this academy. And yet, for a long time he stood in the shadow of his 12 years older brother, Andreas Achenbach. Nevertheless, alongside him he became a much sought-after international artist at a young age.
The frequent traveler Achenbach liked to work in an unconventional way by putting the brush aside to apply the paint thickly with a spatula or finger. He was also known to paint over one of his paintings with a new motif if he did not like it. Many oil sketches and notes were souvenirs of his travels, which he continued to make while he was a professor. Especially Italy and its then very popular sceneries had taken a liking to him. As a silent observer he concentrated on light, shadows and colours in order to play with their effect on the canvas. In the course of his life he brought about 2000 pictures from the eye to the canvas. Until his death he remained a respected citizen in Düsseldorf. Many honours distinguished his life's work.
After he finally resigned his professorship in 1872, he concentrated exclusively on painting. Further journeys led him again and again to Italy, the country of his favourite motifs. Through the thick application of colours in any form, which he refined more and more in this late period, his paintings almost received a kind of relief. Sometimes he also let the background shine through, because he deliberately did not fill the canvas completely, and sometimes several layers of his colours, used in many ways, overlapped. Again and again he concentrated on the overall effect of his paintings and used more and more accentuated contrasts. He used more and more pastel shades and left behind the brownish tones that characterized his initial paintings. After a last look at his own favourite painting "Pio Norno", he died and was buried at Düsseldorf's Nordfriedhof. © Meisterdrucke
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An important landscape painter of the Düsseldorf school of painting of the 19th century was Oswald Achenbach. As professor for landscape painting he led one of the master classes of the Düsseldorf Art Academy in 1866/1867, which produced many famous painters such as Gregor von Bochmann, Themistocles von Eckenbrecher or Louis Kolitz. Already at the age of 8 years Achenbach himself was accepted as a student of the elementary class of this academy. And yet, for a long time he stood in the shadow of his 12 years older brother, Andreas Achenbach. Nevertheless, alongside him he became a much sought-after international artist at a young age.
The frequent traveler Achenbach liked to work in an unconventional way by putting the brush aside to apply the paint thickly with a spatula or finger. He was also known to paint over one of his paintings with a new motif if he did not like it. Many oil sketches and notes were souvenirs of his travels, which he continued to make while he was a professor. Especially Italy and its then very popular sceneries had taken a liking to him. As a silent observer he concentrated on light, shadows and colours in order to play with their effect on the canvas. In the course of his life he brought about 2000 pictures from the eye to the canvas. Until his death he remained a respected citizen in Düsseldorf. Many honours distinguished his life's work.
After he finally resigned his professorship in 1872, he concentrated exclusively on painting. Further journeys led him again and again to Italy, the country of his favourite motifs. Through the thick application of colours in any form, which he refined more and more in this late period, his paintings almost received a kind of relief. Sometimes he also let the background shine through, because he deliberately did not fill the canvas completely, and sometimes several layers of his colours, used in many ways, overlapped. Again and again he concentrated on the overall effect of his paintings and used more and more accentuated contrasts. He used more and more pastel shades and left behind the brownish tones that characterized his initial paintings. After a last look at his own favourite painting "Pio Norno", he died and was buried at Düsseldorf's Nordfriedhof. © Meisterdrucke
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