Oswald Achenbach. Oswald Achenbach was a German painter associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting.
Though little known today, during his lifetime he was counted among the most important landscape painters of Europe. Through his teaching activities, he influenced the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf.
His brother, Andreas Achenbach, who was twelve years older, was also among the most important German landscape painters of the 19th century. The two brothers were humorously called the A and O of Landscapes.
Oswald Achenbach was the fifth of ten children. His parents were Herman and Christine.
There was little about the family to suggest that it would produce two of the century's most important painters. Hermann Achenbach was employed in a series of jobs, including beer and vinegar brewer, guesthouse owner, and bookkeeper. During Oswald's early childhood, the family moved to Munich where he attended primary school for at least a short period. At exactly what point his family returned to Düsseldorf is not known. In 1835, at the age of eight, Achenbach was enrolled in the elementary class of the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. This was technically in violation of the Academy's bylaws, which required a minimum age of twelve. He continued there until 1841. He was a student in the elementary class, where he was instructed in the basics of drawing, and then spent a year in the architecture class. This also did n