出生在卡塞尔1827年,他开始了他的艺术教育杜塞尔多夫下弗里德里希·威廉Schadow在杜塞尔多夫绘画学院。他就读于圣彼得堡和旅行在意大利、荷兰和斯堪的纳维亚。在他的早期作品后pseudo-idealism德国浪漫的学校,但在删除慕尼黑1835年,强大的影响力路易Gurlitt他的才能变成新的渠道,他成为德国现实学校的创始人。虽然他的风景表明他瞄准picture-making和缺乏太多的个人气质,他是一个技术大师,是历史上重要的改革家。他收到了第一节课勋章,1855年在巴黎并被命名为法国的骑士荣誉勋章.的钱伯斯传记词典他说:“他被认为是19世纪德国山水画的父亲。”

一些他最好的作品了柏林国家美术馆,新Pinakothek在慕尼黑,画廊德累斯顿,达姆施塔特,科隆杜塞尔多夫,莱比锡和汉堡。他的许多作品在画廊在美国。

他死于杜塞尔多夫。

Born in Kassel, he began his art education in 1827 in Düsseldorf under Friedrich Wilhelm Schadow at the Düsseldorf Academy of Painting. He studied at St Petersburg and travelled in Italy, Holland and Scandinavia.In his early work he followed the pseudo-idealism of the German romantic school, but on removing to Munich in 1835, the stronger influence of Louis Gurlitt turned his talent into new channels, and he became the founder of the German realistic school. Although his landscapes evince too much of his aim at picture-making and lack personal temperament, he is a master of technique, and is historically important as a reformer. He received a medal of the first class in Paris in 1855,and was named a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor.The Chambers Biographical Dictionary says of him that "he was regarded as the father of 19th century German landscape painting."

A number of his finest works are to be found at the Berlin National Gallery, the New Pinakothek in Munich, and the galleries at Dresden, Darmstadt, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Leipzig and Hamburg. Many of his paintings are in galleries in the United States.

He died in Düsseldorf.

His brother, Oswald Achenbach (1827–1905), was also a painter.