MUNICH.- There's a fresh spring breeze, because from now on the leading auction house Ketterer Kunst puts the focus on paintings, drawings and prints from the 19th to the first two decades of the 20th century.

“The interest in this era has been continuously increasing for some time now, which is proven by more than 20% new clients in every auction. As far as the upward growth rate and the increasing sales quotas are concerned, the decision to sharpen the focus on this segment is a logic consequence“, says company owner and CEO Robert Ketterer.

The upcoming auction on 25 May already includes a high-quality range of offerings. Highlights are a large oil painting of dancing beauties by Ludwig von Hofmann (estimate: € 50,000-70,000) that shows the influence of Symbolism and Art Novueau and Walter Leistikow's “Grunewaldsee“. The atmospheric view onto a tree-lined shore has been estimated with € 40,000-60,000. It is a very characteristic work by the artist, which calls reminiscence of landscapes from the Karlsruhe and Worpswede artists and of Caspar David Friedrich's romantic art.

The latter is also represented with a pen drawing, estimated at € 30,000-40,000, showing the “Kirche von Lyngby“. This work by Caspar David Friedrich, whose remarkable feel for nature replaced the then prevailing classicist belief and who is considered the founding father of German landscape painting, was presumably made around 1795/97 when he attended the academy in Copenhagen.

More than half a dozen works by Franz von Stuck will definitely make for excitement in the salesroom, the group is led by a portrait of his wife (estimate: € 20,000-30,000), a “Sonnenuntergang“ (estimate: € 25,000-35,000) and an allegoric “Frühling“. The to date unknown portrait of a young girl will enter the race with an estimate of € 30,000-40,000.

Other highlights are a triptych by Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller (estimate: € 25,000-35,000) and several virtuous paintings of ducks in late-impressionistic manner by Alexander Koester (estimates up to € 30,000) as well as almost 20 works by Wilhelm Kuhnert (estimates up to € 35,000), of which 16 come from a Northern German private collection.

The range of offerings is completed by two rural scenes from Heinrich Bürkel (estimates: 15,000-20,000 each), Jan Chelminski's “Parforcejagd“ (estimate: € 12,000-15,000) and a “Dame im Park“ from Albert Weisgerber (estimate: € 10.000-15.000), as well as by works from acclaimed artists such as Edmund Adler, Edward Theodore Compton, Hermann Corrodi, Eduard Léon Cortès, Wilhelm Gail, August Gaul, Peder Mørk Mønsted, Johann Martin von Rohden, Adolf Schreyer, Franz Richard Unterberger, Franz Skarbina, Wilhelm Trübner, Josef Wenglein, Aloys Zötl and Heinrich von Zügel.