Lot 798 | Andreas Achenbach | Shipyard on the Beach (Near Ostende?)

ACHENBACH, ANDREAS
1815 Kassel - 1910 Düsseldorf

Title: Shipyard on the Beach (Near Ostende?).
Technique: Oil on canvas.
Measurement: 78 x 96cm.
Notation: Signed and dated lower right: A. Achenbach 86.
Frame/Pedestal: Framed.

Literature:
H. Hildebrand: Die Kunst des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts, Wildpark/Potsdam 1924, ill. p. 261.

Provenance:
Private ownership, Germany.

One of the leading artistic personalities of the Düsseldorf School of Painting was Andreas Achenbach, who is usually mentioned in connection with his younger brother - Oswald. Contemporary sources report on his inherent rebellious character, which presented itself in diverse ways. In order to establish a clear break between the brothers' work, a meeting took place in 1850 which was to determine the personal style of the brothers.

From then on, Andreas painted Nordic seascapes that demonstrated the power of the sea and showed people trying to tame the power of nature and its elements. The present painting is representative of Achenbach's dramatic seascapes and also reflects the artist's rebellious character: Andreas shows a shipyard, protected by dunes, occupying the right half of the painting. Black and dense smoke emerges over a large area and guides the view into the upper half of the painting. Behind the black smoke, the silhouette of an adjacent town opens up, framed by a dark sky and approaching storm clouds. The sails of the ships at the harbour also hint at the approaching thunderstorm.