Hamburg, 13 February 2008, (kk) - Comical, grotesque, classic, Near Eastern and extremely nature-loving: that sums up the "Spitzweg Phenomen", featured at a special Ketterer Kunst auction in Hamburg on 5 April 2008. Fifteen works by the apothecary who painted will be called at the auction of Old Masters and Art of the 19th Century/Marine Art. Executed between 1830 and 1875, they cover a broad thematic and technical range - from pencil drawings through watercolours to oil. The estimates range from € 600 to € 85,000.

This little Carl Spitzweg collection is headed by "Straße in Kairo" ["Street in Cairo"], an oil painting measuring 50 by 40 cm. The Near Eastern scene carries an estimate of € 65,000-85,000. The artist must have been inspired to paint it by scenes he saw on his extensive travels. He was, after all, entirely cosmopolitan, an inveterate traveller who mastered several languages.

Nevertheless he loved his native land and often took it as a motif. Two examples are a free study (1845) in oils, "Der Ammergauer Kofel" ["The Ammergau Kofel"] (estimate: € 20,000-30,000), and "Fränkische Sommerlandschaft" ["Summery Franconian Landscape"], dating from 1870 (estimate: € 18,000-24,000).

Another work that is sure to keep the auction room on tenterhooks is the small Spitzweg painting "Gnom, Eisenbahn betrachtend" ["Gnome Watching a Train"]. Measuring 24 x 14.7 cm and carrying a n estimate of € 30,000-40,000, it is a prime example of Spitzweg’s mastery of composition. Peering out of his safe cave from quite an elevation, a dwarf is observing a train running through the valley far below. Thus Spitzweg contrasts the old and the new, with a definitely critical eye. Conquered by technology, the world is gradually losing its myths. Sprites, fairies and trolls, incarnations of primeval nature, must yield to progress. The dwarf is still secure in his world but not for long.

The Art of the 19th Century division will lead off with "Stillleben mit Weintrauben" ["Still Life with Grapes"] (estimate: € 60,000-70,000) by Johann Wilhelm Preyer. Alongside two paintings done by Johann Moritz Rugendas in Lima, Peru, which, at estimates of € 30,000-40,000 for each, are also right at the top. Other highlights are works by Luis Alvarez Catalá ("Roma"; estimate: € 25,000- 30,000), Max Clarenbach and Christian Morgenstern.

The Old Masters division stars a 1646 Adriaen van Utrecht "Küchenstillleben mit erlegtem Wild, Früchten und Gemüse" ["Kitchen Still Life with Game, Fruits and Vegetables"]. After the outstanding results (estimate: € 40,000-60,000; sale price: € 84,000*) achieved at Ketterer last year with a similar work by the same artist, the present painting, carrying an estimate of € 50,000-70,000, is expected to cause quite a stir when it is called.

Other masters whose striking works are included in this selection include Ottmar Elliger ("Fruchtgehänge mit zahlreichen Insekten" ["Garland of Fruits with Many Insects"]; estimate: € 18,000-24,000), Lady Laura Theresa Alma-Tadema ("Satisfaction"; estimate: € 15,000-20,000), Benjamin G. Cuyp, Gerrit Maes, Christian Georg Schüz, Hendrik Verschuring and Joachim von Sandrart the Younger, represented by an extremely rare pen drawing (estimate: € 8,000-12,000).

Names that stand for quality in the Marine Art division are Themistockles von Eckenbrecher, whose oil painting of the "Romsdalshorn" (1908) is to be launched with an estimate of € 3,000-4,000, Willy Dammasch and August von Siegen.

Pres-sale viewings of selected works are scheduled for the following dates, times and venues:

18-20March, 11 am-7 pm	Ketterer Kunst, Fasanenstr. 70, Berlin
22 March, 11 am-4 pm	Ketterer Kunst, Fasanenstr. 70, Berlin
25-27 March, 11 am-4 pm	Ketterer Kunst, Prinzregentenstr. 61, München

All works will be shown:

29 March, 11 am-5 pm	Ketterer Kunst, Am Meßberg 1, Hamburg
31 March - 02 April, 11 am-5 pm	Ketterer Kunst, Am Meßberg 1, Hamburg

The auction begins:

05 April 2008

11 am

Ketterer Kunst, Am Meßberg 1, Hamburg