Ahrenshoop Summer Auction on Aug 1 to Feature Four Feininger Drawings

Dune panorama to be auctioned. Source: picture alliance/imageBROKER/Rolf Fischer

Ahrenshoop serves as a gathering place for Baltic Sea romantics, a reputation reinforced by the affordable offerings at the upcoming art auction in the seaside resort. Studies by Lyonel Feininger are among the standout lots.

A Drawing of Two Halves

The small sheet is divided in two. A horizontal line separates differently inclined hatchings from each other. Above the line, a kind of diamond shape emerges, composed of empty, light, and darker areas. Below the line, the pencil hatchings are closer together, elongated, and accented by hard, almost black spots.

The inconspicuously suggested ship on the line becomes key. It tells the eye that this line is a horizon, the ship is a real object, and the drawing is—in the broadest sense—a realistic landscape image. Specifically, it is "Seascape with Ship on the Horizon," drawn by Lyonel Feininger in 1912.

Revolutionary Abstraction

114 years ago, the public was still unaccustomed to abstract art. Meanwhile, the avant-gardes were diligently striving to break away from naturalistic or realistic depictions of reality. Lyonel Feininger was also undecided at the time. The modern artist recognized the appeal of both—ideally on one and the same picture surface.

His small drawing, on perforated paper so it could be filed in his study folder, sketches the visual impression of the Baltic Sea coast: gray sea, cloudy sky, bright beach. Today, all of this is immediately recognizable to the trained eye, even though Feininger uses abstraction to achieve it. At the time, it was revolutionary. Feininger's clouds are angular, forming a grid that seems to anticipate his crystalline oil paintings, in which church towers and cityscapes burst into colorful facets as if seen through a prism.

Auction Highlights

In the offerings of the Ahrenshoop art auctions—held once in summer and once in winter on the Darss Baltic Sea coast—works by Lyonel Feininger are always well represented. This time, four drawings will go under the hammer:

• Two seascapes
• Two depictions of the church in Gelmeroda

All four were created in the 1910s and are estimated at €5,000 to €8,000.

Lyonel Feininger, "Seascape with Ship on the Horizon," 1912. Source: Ahrenshoop Art Auction

Broader Selection

In total, around 200 artworks will be auctioned at this year's summer auction. As usual, these include many painters from the Ahrenshoop artists' colony, which has existed since 1892, such as:

• Paul Müller-Kaempff
• Louis Douzette
• Carl Malchin (with snow landscapes)

From the late 19th century comes a beautiful "Summer Retreat on the Island of Vilm (Rügen)" by Carl Saltzmann in oil on cardboard—an island that has been a protected nature reserve closed to visitors since the 1950s. Contemporary art is also included, such as an early lithograph ("Ernst R.") by Neo Rauch.

All lots of the summer auction will be exhibited in Ahrenshoop in the coming weeks at the Kunstkaten and the Strandhalle. The 52nd Ahrenshoop Art Auction will take place on August 1, 2026.