Lot 1109 | Oswald Achenbach | Evening in the Campagna

ACHENBACH, OSWALD
Düsseldorf 1827 - 1905

Title: Evening in the Campagna.
Shepherds with their flock of sheep near Roman ruins.
Date: 1856.
Technique: Oil on canvas.
Measurement: 79 x 113cm.
Notation: Signed and dated lower right: "Osw. Achenbach 1856".
Frame: Framed.

Provenance:
In private ownership since before 1900, Germany.

Oswald Achenbach was THE Italy painter of the Düsseldorf School of Painting. Seven journeys took him 'to the land where the lemons bloom'. There he collected a wealth of motifs which, once elaborated in his cool Rhineland homeland, sold extremely well.
Eight paintings by this important artist, who was also highly regarded internationally, are presented here.

The cityscape of Basel from 1889 is a special feature. For his 'View from the "Mittlere Rheinbrücke" on the Basel Minster' (cat. 1114), the painter chose an elevated perspective on the scene. This special view across the river to the silhouette of the city towering on the opposite bank can still be enjoyed today from Basel's oldest Rhine crossing.
The 'Evening Mood in the Campagna' (cat. 1109) was painted about 30 years earlier. As if on a stage, the painter arranges the women at the well and the horseman with his flock of sheep on the road in front of the glistening light of the setting sun. Architecture and trees form the 'backdrop' for the harmonious scene.
Oswald Achenbach captured a similar mood in his undated 'Evening Mood in the Alban Hills' (cat. 1111). While farmers make their way towards the city gate in the background, the 'dolce far niente' is already being celebrated on the stage-like sloping meadow with music and (ball) games.
The painting 'The Eruption of Vesuvius' from 1890 (cat. 1115) is much more dramatic. This is actually a historical painting, as the painter depicts the panic among the Neapolitan population when the volcano erupted in 1872.
The Via Appia with the Tomb of Caecilia Metella (cat. 1110) depicts a historic building with a high degree of recognisability. When compared with contemporary postcards or photographs, which the artist certainly also worked with, it becomes clear how he composed the foreground, the staffage, but above all the natural spectacle of the sky.
The small oil study of the 'Coast at Capri' (cat. 1116) offers a glimpse into Oswald Achenbach's atelier: originally certainly not intended for sale, the paper work is a personal 'finger exercise' in the depiction of hazy sea air, glistening sunlight and rugged rocks.
Depicting the juxtaposition of moonlight and firelight has always been one of the great challenges of painting. In 'Moonrise at the Sea' (cat. 1112), the remnants of the beach fires of the fishermen setting out to sea fade into the romantic scene alongside the moonlight.
'Night in the Pontine Marshes' (cat. 1113) shows the earthly fire on the left edge of the picture blazing much more intensely. In this painting, Oswald Achenbach's masterful skill and loose brushwork are particularly evident.