lights in the forest
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" (a reference to their initials matching a common German reference to the Alpha and Omega).
Ludwig von Hofmann is a German painter, graphic artist and designer. The influence of Historicism, Art Nouveau, Symbolism and New Realism can be felt in the works of Ludwig von Hofmann at different periods of his art.
Ludwig von Hoffmann studied painting at the academies of fine arts in Dresden, Karlsruhe and Munich. Since 1898 he was a member of the cultural movement Berlin Secession.
After the National Socialists came to power in Germany, some of his works were classified as degenerate art, but most of them continued to be exhibited in museums in Germany.
Heinrich Johann von Zügel was a German painter of the late nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century. He is known as a painter who specialized in depicting farm animals in dramatic and humorous situations.
Von Zügel invested more than 40 years in the subject of "Hard Labor," depicting mostly the work of oxen. By creating 24 versions of this subject, the artist demonstrated the evolution of his skill from realistic detailing to cubic and monumental interpretation. Von Zügel also created light impressionist paintings, including a self-portrait at the age of 77. In addition to animals, he also painted portraits and cityscapes.