Düsseldorf School of painting

also: Düsseldorfer Malerschule

school 1819-1918 Germany Europe

The Düsseldorf School of painting names the painters who taught or studied at the Düsseldorf Academy between 1819 and 1918 - roughly four thousand artists in all. First directed by Wilhelm von Schadow, the school grew out of German Romanticism and became known for finely detailed, often fanciful landscapes, frequently carrying religious or allegorical stories set in nature. Major members advocated plein-air painting and favored a palette of relatively subdued, even colors. The school's reach was international: it shaped the Hudson River School, and many prominent Americans trained at the academy, among them Worthington Whittredge, Eastman Johnson, and Emanuel Leutze, whose Washington Crossing the Delaware is perhaps the most famous painting by any Düsseldorf-trained artist.

Beginning in the 1820s, the academy in Düsseldorf, a town on the Rhine River, began to attract artists from other German cities and from abr
Beginning in the 1820s, the academy in Düsseldorf, a town on the Rhine River, began to attract artists from other German cities and from abrPublic domain (credit: Andreas Achenbach) · source

Defining characteristics

  • Finely detailed, often fanciful landscapes
  • Religious or allegorical narratives set within the landscape
  • Advocacy of plein-air painting and study from nature
  • A palette of relatively subdued, even colors
  • Romantic mood: ruins, storms, mountains, and historical incident

Key figures

  • Wilhelm von Schadow (1789-1862) — Academy director around whom the school crystallized
  • Carl Friedrich Lessing (1808-1880) — Leading Romantic landscapist and historical painter of the school
  • Johann Wilhelm Schirmer (1807-1863) — Landscape painter and teacher who defined the school's pastoral manner
  • Andreas Achenbach (1815-1910) — Marine and landscape painter, the school's most celebrated colorist
  • Emanuel Leutze (1816-1868) — German-American history painter trained at the academy

Example works

  • Clearing Up - Coast of Sicily — Andreas Achenbach (1847)
  • Washington Crossing the Delaware — Emanuel Leutze (1851)
  • The Old Academy in Düsseldorf — Andreas Achenbach (1831)

Sources

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