Rolf Preuth no longer has room at home for his painting. That’s why the 70-year-old site manager from Baesweiler wants one thing above all: that it ends up in good hands. Later it will indeed change hands, but in a different way than the seller probably imagined.
But first things first: art historian Friederike Werner is very enthusiastic about the oil painting depicting an alchemist in his laboratory. “I have to show you that: Isn’t that lovely?” She asks Horst Lichter, who wholeheartedly agrees.
This is a painting by the British painter Charles Meer Webb, who was born in 1830, as the expert explains. It was created around 1870. Werner emphasizes that the canvas is still on the original stretcher frame. “It’s really all original. I find that quite remarkable.”
Preuth names 100 euros as the desired price. The expert considers this to be far too little: she estimates the value of the picture at 700 to 1000 euros. “It’s a beautiful old painting,” says Lichter, “and our dealers will recognize that, too.”
But it doesn’t quite come to that: In the dealer’s room, the painting is initially covered. A stage direction sounds from the off: “Whoever covers the object can fall down on you.” Walter Lehnertz is slightly annoyed by the admonition: “Listen, we’re professionals, right?” he replies defiantly and then steps forward.
But when trying to remove the picture from the easel, “Waldi” destroyed the canvas at one point. For a brief moment, pure horror reigns in the dealer room. “It survived 150 years, now the Eifeler is coming,” scoffs David Suppes.
When the seller enters the room, “Waldi” immediately admits his sin: “I don’t even know where to start,” Lehnertz begins. “Today we have a premiere: Your picture will definitely be bought because I broke it.”
Quite contritely, he says: “I’m sorry that we had to get to know each other like this” and announces that he wants to buy the painting. “I’ll have it professionally restored,” promises “Waldi” – and then asks the seller for his desired price. Rolf Preuth specifies it at 800 euros. And “Waldi”, very man of honor, goes into it without contradiction.
Despite the mishap, Preuth is satisfied: “I’m going home in good spirits.”
Source: “Bares for Rares” in the ZDF media library
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