The idyllic scenes of a farmstead, reminiscent of the classic topos of the Locus amoenus, are among Keller-Reutlingen's most characteristic motifs. The stylized and reduced language of form and color, along with the precision of the execution, give his paintings a dreamlike, surreal and fairytale-like atmosphere. The homestead pictures, in which he arranged the smallest staffage under a clear blue sky with compact clouds in front of a flat architecture, offer him the possibility of working in variations - arrangements of geometric versus organic forms of the vegetation and clouds, as well as the conscious use of splashes of color of white linen, geese and sunflowers and looming shadows. Beyond their idyllic motif, these paintings are fascinating explorations of the possibilities of painting. A lively composition, mainly due to the lighting effects that contrast with the statics of the architecture, is the trademark of the artist's paintings. His extensive oeuvre comprises motifs from Italy and local motifs from the Swabian Jura and the area around Dachau, where he lived from 1880 to 1890. Keller-Reutlingen initially learned the trade of a xylographer. Between 1872 and 1875 he attended the art academies of Stuttgart and Munich. After a four-year journey through Italy, he first settled in Munich in 1879, and lived in the towns of Dachau and Fürstenfeldbruck in the following. He showed his works with great success in exhibitions in Vienna, Stuttgart, Munich and Düsseldorf. [KT]