The alpha and omega of landscapes
Known as the “alpha and omega of landscapes” in playful reference to the initials of their first names, Andreas and Oswald Achenbach were among the most prominent landscape painters of their time. They divided subjects among each other according to regional aspects. Four outstanding Achenbach works will be auctioned at Dorotheum in the 19th century paintings auction in April.
Andreas and Oswald Achenbach were central figures in the Düsseldorf art scene. They travelled across Europe and were extremely successful on the international art market. Both brothers studied at the Fine Arts Academy of Düsseldorf. At eight years of age, Oswald followed Andreas, who was twelve years his senior, to the academy. He was considerably younger than his fellow students, since the regular minimum age for entering the academy was twelve.
Seasoned travellers
Supported by family, the Achenbachs were able to travel across Europe at an early stage. Their encounters with different art movements had an effect on their development. Even though both brothers were given the same education and opportunities, their works show two independent artistic personalities.
Andreas Achenbach
Andreas is considered a master of capturing the moment. His paintings seem to record
the surging sea just before the wave brakes or the unavoidable happens.
Oswald Achenbach
Oswald on the other hand concentrated his compositional power by painting lasting scenes.
No sooner had Oswald appeared on the art market than he was compared to his brother, who had already made a name for himself. Their works were soon in great demand in Germany as well as in France and the U.S., demonstrating both artists’ international appeal; after all, these countries were considered a desirable market for artists.
To each his own
In order to avoid competing against each other with their works, the artists decided to divide up the market and subjects.
Andreas
The eldest of the brothers turned to northern landscapes, was influenced by Dutch role models and by his contemporaries Jean Antoine Théodore Gudin and Eugène Isabey, both of whom were well-known French marine painters. One of the paintings up for auction, “The homecoming of the fishermen in stormy seas”, shows his fondness for eventful scenes at sea. The sailboats are battling ever-higher waves and the approaching storm.
Oswald
The younger Achenbach brother, on the other hand, painted southern landscapes that capture everyday life. The painter’s perspective ist that of the silent observer. Oswald honed his use of light and tone on his travels through Italy. Together with Arnold Böcklin, whom he knew from his student days in Düsseldorf, the younger Achenbach went on excursions around Olevano in 1850. His companion inspired him in the way he composed his paintings. Examples include “Wooded riverscape with hunters” and “The majestic tree in the evening light” from 1852.
The majestic tree in the evening light
The composition of the above is centred on a tree, while the hunters are purely staffage. As a result, nature becomes the focus of the painting. With his use of colours, light and shadow, the artist creates an impression of tranquility that characterises all his works. Other recurring elements of his composition are the low perspective and a sky that takes up almost two thirds of the painting.
While Andreas tells a story by dramatising the scene, Oswald turns it into a moment of calm. Movement meets calm, narration meets observation, dramatisation meets realism.
View of the Piazzetta
Over the course of his career, Oswald increasingly enriched his scenes with figures and architecture, as if driven by a fear of empty space. This new approach is clear to see in the grand painting of the auction, “View of the Piazetta with the Biblioteca Marciana and Santa Maria della Salute and the Dogana”. The watches the scenery from the Ponte della Paglia, and there is architecture wherever the eye comes to rest on the Piazza. The lively scene nonetheless exudes the peacefulness so typical of Oswald’s paintings, with its subjects going about their normal business on a normal spring day.
Brothers will be brothers
Even though both brothers stuck with their territorial separation of subjects throughout their lives, both complained about the restriction. According to reports from Hans Gude, his professor Oswald also longed to paint the North with its intensely blue sky.
Andreas was the more respected during his lifetime and long after his death, because his way of painting from nature was considered perfect and his works obtained high prices. And yet, Oswald was in no way inferior in terms of quality and composition.
Contemporary art historians view Oswald as his brother’s equal. The paintings coming up for auction illustrate that fact and show the broad range of two artists of equal value whose achievements set important impulses for landscape painting.
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Caroline Ghiringhelli and Bianca Hawel are assistant experts for 19th century paintings.
Information
Dimitra Reimüller, Expert for 19th Century Paintings
Auction
19th century paintings, 27 April 2017, Palais Dorotheum