Lot 2540 Dα

Both Ronnefahrt and Wichmann titled this painting “Angler”. However, recent professional cleaning has revealed that the figure seen striding through the flat landscape of this work in the early morning light carries a gun and not, as previously thought, a fishing rod. He can thus be identified as a hunter who has found his quarry in the lone bird flying above him.
In this small work, dated to around 1860, Spitzweg proves his mastery of the depiction of light and shadow. Whilst we look at the figure of the hunter against the light, the small town in the background is brightly illuminated.
We would like to thank Detlef Rosenberger for his kind support in cataloguing this work.