A Punch and Judy show on a beach along the shore of Naples, the Vesuvius in the distance

Oswald Achenbach studied at the Kunstakademie in Düsseldorf. In doing so he followed in the footsteps of his elder brother, the painter Andreas Achenbach (1815-1910). Next to his teacher Johann Wilhelm Schirmer, his brother had a profound influence on his work. Early on in his career he made studies of landscapes in the area around Düsseldorf. From 1843 onwards the artist undertook various trips throughout Europe. The artist was held in high regard internationally by his peers and received honorary memberships to the Academies of Art of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and St. Petersburg. Besides trips to the Netherlands, Russia and Austria, he also travelled to Italy. The peninsula would eventually prove to be Achenbach's main source of inspiration. The bulk of his oeuvre depicts the surroundings of Naples, with villages such as Positano and Sorrento. The present lot depicts an evening market and its diversions on a beach in the Bay of Naples. Achenbach had an obvious liking for dusk and in doing so added a mediterranean glow to his work.
The two mountains in the background are the famous Mount Vesuvius and the lesser-known Mount Somma. The vista of these mountains is a reccurring theme in the paintings he has made in the region.

Compare with a painting of the same subject-matter in J. Heinrich Schmidt, Oswald Achenbach, Düsseldorf 1946, p. 75, ill.