Modern Art and Old Masters

Our art auction in the first half of 2024 will start with a very special chapter: discover over 25 lots from an attractive private collection dedicated to the art of the Old Masters. On offer are prints, drawings and paintings by (southern) German, Dutch and Italian masters from the 16th to the 18th centuries. In addition to secular scenes and still lifes, the collection also includes numerous motifs from the Ars sacra; the painting Christ and John the Baptist as Children (estimate EUR 6,000 - 8,000) from the workshop of Joos van Cleve is a wonderful example of Old Netherlandish painting, which often finds its subjects in Christian themes. The Madonna lactans (estimate EUR 3,000 - 5,000) with the motif of a nursing mother, also comes from van Cleve's circle. This type of motif was depicted since the late antiquity and became a frequently used subject for van Cleve and his workshop.

As usual, art from the late 19th and early 20th centuries is also represented in our auction. Here, a painting attributed to Christian Morgenstern can be found (estimate EUR 2,000 - 4,000) as well as two works by the famous German animal painter Wilhelm Kuhnert. The large-format work 'Old Cape Buffalo at a Pond' (estimate EUR 7,000 - 9,000) was created in the first quarter of the 20th century and shows the horned animal separated from the rest of the herd at a waterhole. His portrait of 'Sultan Solero' is in a completely different style, but just as impressive. The sultan stares directly into the viewer’s eye from a strictly frontal perspective, making it difficult to take your eyes off him. The artist's diary entries reveal that he was caught up in the so-called Maji Maji uprising on his second expedition to East Africa in 1905/06. Kuhnert mentions the name of the sultan in writing to the effect that his tribe supported the German colonial troops. We would like to thank Dr. Angelika Grettmann-Werner for the information and the expert reports on the two paintings on offer.

In the field of post-war art, our highlight is Walter Stöhrer's painting from 1963 estimate EUR 15,000 - 20,000). Born in Stuttgart, the artist studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Karlsruhe under HAP Grieshaber, one of the leading representatives of German post-war art. Stöhrer became a member of the Deutscher Künstlerbund and received numerous awards and scholarships. The painting offered in the auction is an outstanding example of Stöhrer's abstract art, which is characterized by vibrant colors, flowing forms and a dynamic composition.

LOVE IS IN THE AIR is the name of another special chapter within the art auction. It contains selected objects from a private collection, all of which deal with the theme of love and express this in a visual way. As shown in the 'The Love Ring' from 1969 (estimate EUR 800 - 1,200), almost every lot in the collection bears the word 'LOVE', coined by Robert Indiana in the early 1960s. The catchphrase was created when the Museum of Modern Art in New York commissioned Indiana to design a Christmas card for them. However, the artist lost the rights to market the lettering, as the card bore the copyright notice of the museum and not that of the artist. As a result, LOVE spread worldwide and in countless media such as prints, sculptures, rings and stamps and became the epitome of a pop art motif. Enchant your loved one(s) with a small or large gift that additionally have collector's value.

This year's spring auction of Modern Art once again achieved numerous successful sales results.

Among the Old Masters, which came from a North German private collection, the 'Study of six ears' by an Italian artist of the 16th/17th century was particularly sought after (hammer price EUR 3,600); it achieved 6 times it’s asking price. The drawing 'Baumbestandener Staudamm mit Staffagefiguren' was also very popular with bidders, with a hammer price of EUR 3,000. In addition to the drawings, Old Master paintings were also offered; the 'Portrait of a Woman in a Bonnet' from the 16th century fetched more than double it’s asking price (hammer price EUR 1,300).

Wilhelm Kuhnert's 'Alter Kaffernbüffel am Tümpel' was the absolute highlight and most hotly battled over. The painting of a lone buffalo away from it’s herd looks like a snapshot from the artist's African expeditions. Kuhnert's typical motif in an attractive panoramic format drew the highest bids and ultimately fetched a hammer price of 27,000 euros. The buffalo thus went to America for three times it’s upper estimate. The portrait of 'Sultan Solero' by Kuhnert also sold for EUR 5,000.

Thomas Theodor Heine's drawing 'Triumph der Zentralisation', circa 1927, was created as a cover for the magazine Simplicissimus and also achieved three times the upper estimate at EUR 2,100. In the field of post-war art, Walter Womacka's 'Children with Flowers and Doves' was in high demand. After a long bidding battle, the colorful work on paper was knocked down for EUR 7,000. Gerhard Hoehme's painting also changed hands with a hammer price of EUR 7,000, more than three times it’s upper estimate.

Salvador Dalí's sculpture 'The Surrealist Eyes' from 1980 showed just how popular surrealism is at the moment, with quite some telephone and online bidders showing keen interest, resulting in a hammer price of EUR 9,500.

We would like to congratulate all the highest bidders on their winning bids and thank everyone who took part in the auction.