49
Oswald Achenbach (Düsseldorf, 1827 - 1905)
La spiaggia di Mergellina al tramonto
signed and dated Osw Achenbach 1878 lower left
oil on canvas transferred to panel
cm 109x145
Provenance:
Italy, private collection;
German private collection
Comparative bibliography:
M. Potthoff, Oswald Achenbach, Koln-Berlin 1995 M. Sitt, Andreas and Oswald Achenbach, The Alpha and Omega of the landscape, of the exhibition, Düsseldorf 1997, R. Kern, Oswald Achenbach: Ein Düsseldorfer Italian malt, Münster 2009,
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One of the absolute masterpieces of Oswald Achenbach's production, belonging to the period of his highest creativity and inspiration: combining technical virtuosity and sincere emotional attachment to the representation of the places and people who lived and acted in those places, the German painter reached heights of quality absolute and undisputed international success, so much so that he is considered the true initiator, together with his brother Andreas, of that revolutionary artistic movement which should be remembered as the 'Düsseldorf School'. The Mergellina beach with a group of tourists - presumably English, considering the style of the clothes -, returning from a boat trip to admire the splendid panorama of Naples seen from the sea, they are welcomed by a large group of sailors and fishermen who with their families attend to daily activities in the last hot hours of the day The choice to set the scene at the moment of a dazzling sunset allows the German artist to show off his magical repertoire of shades and colors, to play with light and atmosphere. Although Achenbach had already made several trips to Naples between the 1850s and 1860s, it was only from the mid-1870s that Campania landscapes became his favorite theme for his splendid views. Later, even once he returned to his homeland, frequented several times. This also happened for the views of the Chiaia beach: but a view like this one presented here, of this format, with such a complex scenographic construction and with such a quantity and variety of characters, of such total empathy with the places represented, remains a unicum in the still excellent pictorial production of Oswald Achenbach.
One of the absolute masterpieces of Oswald Achenbach's production, belonging to the period of his highest creativity and inspiration: combining technical virtuosity and sincere emotional attachment to the representation of the places and people who lived and acted in those places, the German painter reached heights of quality absolute and undisputed international success, so much so that he is considered the true initiator, together with his brother Andreas, of that revolutionary artistic movement which should be remembered as the 'Düsseldorf School'. The Mergellina beach with a group of tourists - presumably English, considering the style of the clothes -, returning from a boat trip to admire the splendid panorama of Naples seen from the sea, they are welcomed by a large group of sailors and fishermen who with their families attend to daily activities in the last hot hours of the day The choice to set the scene at the moment of a dazzling sunset allows the German artist to show off his magical repertoire of shades and colors, to play with light and atmosphere. Although Achenbach had already made several trips to Naples between the 1850s and 1860s, it was only from the mid-1870s that Campania landscapes became his favorite theme for his splendid views. Later, even once he returned to his homeland, frequented several times. This also happened for the views of the Chiaia beach: but a view like this one presented here, of this format, with such a complex scenographic construction and with such a quantity and variety of characters, of such total empathy with the places represented, remains a unicum in the still excellent pictorial production of Oswald Achenbach.