MUNICH.- The autumn auction season at Ketterer Kunst in Munich kicked off with an extremely successful sale of 19th Century Art. Grossing total proceeds of more than € 1.6 million (with just 128 lots!) it was one of the best auctions this department has ever seen. The star of the evening was Ivan Aivasovsky‘s atmospheric “Ruhige See“.

“Today’s auction has proven that the combination of a high recognition factor, a flawless provenance, and a reasonable estimate price is the key ingredient for a guaranteed success”, says Robert Ketterer. The auctioneer and company owner continues to explain: “Additionally, two other significant components fell into place, as this sale was dominated by open sellers and active buyers. This favorable situation led to an excellent sales quota of more than 75% by lots, as well as an average increase of around 70% per sold lot. What is particularly worthwhile mentioning is the absolute novelty that from the focused range of just 128 works a total of 42 works, around a third, broke the € 10,000 line.”

The auction‘s most expensive work is an oil painting by Ivan Aivasovsky from 1897. Contrary to what the title suggests, the “Ruhige See“ (Calm Sea) (lot 89) made for a real storm in the packed saleroom. Around half a dozen art lovers, mainly from Germany and Russia, fought a pulsating bidding skirmish. Eventually, a tenacious collector from Russia kept his head and stood his grounds with an online bid of € 212,500.

It took a collector from Southern Germany the amount of € 162,500 to call Max Liebermann‘s museumquality oil painting “Die Wochenstube – Schweinekoben“ (lot 92) his own. Called up at € 60,000 the future owner, present in the saleroom, competed for the excellent painting with a complete provenance against several other art lovers and a German museum.

Two other works placed at the top of the list of desires came from Carl Spitzweg. While “Der Maler“ (lot 4) was called up at € 20,000 and lifted to € 30,000 by a commission from an art lover from Baden-Württemberg, a Bavarian bidder on the phone let the oil painting “Am Sonntagmorgen“ (lot 18) soar to heights of two and a half times the calling price. Rivals from Germany and Spain surrendered at € 87,500*.

While Edward Cucuel‘s fine painting “Schöner Herbstnachmittag“ (lot 111) was sold to a Southern German collector in the saleroom for a price of € 62,500, a collector from Brandenburg rewarded Karl Hagemeister’s seascape “Schwere See” (lot 112) the result of € 55,000, and more than doubled the calling price of € 25,000. Almost half a dozen collectors, most of them from the artist’s home region, tried to win the impressive museum-quality wave picture by bidding on the phone.

An array of half a dozen works by Franz von Stuck was completely sold. It was led by a bronze “Amazone” (lot 98) that went to a Bavarian bidder in the saleroom for € 52,500 whose offer of almost the fourfold of the calling price of € 14,000 made for great astonishment in the saleroom. With a large number of commissions and around half a dozen phones from Germany, France and Great Britain the spectacular outcome had been anticipated.

A Southern German phone bidder and an art lover from Northern Germany ran a real neck-and-neck race. The latter eventually won Oswald Achenbach‘s “Blick auf den Vesuv“ (lot 84) with a commission that would have allowed for some more steps. In the end he needed € 42,500 to make the work that was called up with € 30,000 sure for himself.

Four Chiemsee landscapes by Joseph Wopfner that were called up at the beginning of the auction were especially popular with bidders from Southern Germany and Austria. All of them were sold with sharp increases. The sharpest price rise was realized by ”Fischer am Chiemseeufer“ (lot 22)with a fivefold of its calling price and a result of € 25,000 granted by a Hessian art lover.

More works by the Chiemsee painters, as well as by other Southern German artists and representatives of English landscape- and Dutch genre painting are on offer in the online auction of 19th Century Art on www.ketterer-internet-auction.com until December 15, 3 pm.