"In Koester's depictions the ducks embody an aspect of freedom in nature. He usually sees them without any aggression or any special kind of drama, showing them in small sections in the play of the shimmering sunlight. This explains his picture's special atmospheric value, which shows in the loving observation of undisturbed animal life. As far as the artistic value is concerned, he reaches a high naturalistic level in the tradition of 19 th century art." (Mario-Andreas von Lüttichau, in: ex. cat. Munich et al,1985, Alexander Koester. Werke aus der Schenkung Else Eckhard, Bavarian State Painting Collection, Munich 1985, p. 27).