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Lot Essay
Andreas Achenbach began his art education at the age of 12 at the Düsseldorf Academy of Painting under Friedrich Wilhelm Schadow (1789-1862). In his early work he followed the idealism of the German Romantic School, but following his move to Munich in 1835, the influence of Louis Gurlitt (1812-1897) turned his talent in a new direction. Achenbach was a prominent member of the Düsseldorf School and one of the founders of the German Realistic School.
This work is a large scale example of Achenbach's adeptness at capturing the atmosphere of simple fisher life on the coast of the North Sea. The precise detailing visible in the various figures on the beach and in the ships that are seen off on their heavy labour, creates a powerful and expressive realism within the painting. The brightly lit group of fisherwomen in the middle of the composition, with the sun illuminating their white caps, contrast beautifully with the darks and browns of the other onlookers and with the earth colours of the sails.
This work is a large scale example of Achenbach's adeptness at capturing the atmosphere of simple fisher life on the coast of the North Sea. The precise detailing visible in the various figures on the beach and in the ships that are seen off on their heavy labour, creates a powerful and expressive realism within the painting. The brightly lit group of fisherwomen in the middle of the composition, with the sun illuminating their white caps, contrast beautifully with the darks and browns of the other onlookers and with the earth colours of the sails.