Lot 2554 Dα

On occasion of the 175th anniversary of our firm, we are especially proud to be able to include one of Hugo Kauffmann's principal works, “The Auction”, in our sale. This large-format canvas was painted in 1873 and is part of a series of narrative paintings from the artist's early period which testify to Kauffmann's exceptional skills as an observer of everyday life. The faces and gestures of the characters, the detailed depictions of the settings, the combination of a principal story and numerous subplots come together to create charming, and often humorous, snapshots. During this period, Kauffmann also often liked to incorporate children and animals into his works.

The present canvas depicts an estate sale seen from an open stable door. Whilst interested buyers gather around a chest of drawers in the foreground, we see a seated old man in the background inspecting a book with a magnifying glass. The overflowing basket of books beside him indicates that this is not the first, or last, book that he is planning to take home with him that day. In the left corner of the work, we see a woman in a lace bonnet opening the doors of a carved and turned wood cabinet. Is the inside as well kept as the outside? Is there enough room for fine linen?

The auction is already underway, and two boys standing on a ladder observe it from above. A handful of spoons is currently under the hammer. It seems as if the bidders are discussing amongst themselves. How many spoons was it again? Are they worth that much to me? Those who have found an item wait with it until the auctioneer - a severe looking man in round nickel glasses who sits at the table with a hammer and a sheet of paper in his hand - calls it out whilst it is held aloft by the uniformed man beside him. The attention to detail in the realistically rendered scene reveals to the viewer new and minute details at every glance: From the partially loose roof shingles covered with moss and algae, to the full clothesline outside the door of house number 5, and the improvised cloakroom against the wall of the stable holding the hats and coats of the auctioneer and his assistants.