Henri Dievenbach became an apprentice at the Drawing School for Arts and Crafts in Haarlem and then attended the School of Applied Arts in Amsterdam. From 1892 to 1896 he studied at the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten (State Academy) in Amsterdam under August Allebé, Dake, Leenhof and Nicolas van der Waay. Dievenbach lived and worked in Haarlem and Amsterdam until 1896 and in Hilcersum between 1899 and 1910 . He then settled in Laren and lived there until his death. In the meantime he also worked in North Brabant.

Dievenbach also taught other artists such as JW Henke, JC Verhoeven and JH Viertelhausen. He was very active in the Laren art scene and was a member of some artists' associations such as St. Lucas and Arti et Amicitiae, both in Amsterdam. In January 1921 he was a co-founder of the Laren-Blaricum artists' association.