Lot 156 Dα

Johann Baptist Hofer was born in Oberbayern and began attending the Munich academy at the age of 14, where he was taught by Karl Theodor von Piloty. He was close friends with the painter Franz von Lenbach and both artists lived and worked in Hofner's birthplace of Aresing from 1854 to 1856. In contrast to the more chic city scenes favoured by Lenbach, Hofner focused on the rural motifs of his native Bavaria throughout his entire career, frequently depicting animals in countryside surroundings.