4489 - Otto Scheuerer, attributed, "A Surprise"

Otto Scheuerer, attributed, "A Surprise" two kittens opening a box, with insects flying out of it; the kitten on the left, wearing a blue bow, is looking upwards; the second kitten is approaching the box; the third kitten is hiding, frightened, behind the sleeping fourth kitten; a typical depiction by an animal painter, who humorously portrays four little kittens in a playful mood as they discover something new; the painting is reminiscent of the cat paintings by Julius Adams the Younger, who, together with Henriette Ronner-Knip, dominated the field of cat painting, there is a very similar painting with a comparable composition by Otto Scheuerer, which is why this could also be a work by the artist; oil on wood, early 20th century, indistinctly signed lower left, ‘Galerie Bella, Luxembourg’ label on the reverse, minor signs of age, retouching, framed, inner dimensions 22 x 27 cm. Artist information: German animal painter (1862, Munich - 1934, Munich), largely self-taught, probably a pupil of his brother, the animal painter Julius Scheuerer (1859-1913), subsequently a private pupil of Karl Raupp, member of the Reich Association of Visual Artists of Germany, worked in Munich, source: Thieme-Becker, Saur ‘Bio-Bibliographical Artists’ Lexicon’, Bruckmann ‘Munich Painters of the 19th/20th Centuries’ and Dressler.