A first glimpse of Nazi-looted art unveiled in Munich

German authorities have unveiled the contents of the spectacular hoard of Nazi-looted paintings that sent shockwaves of excitement through the art world when its existence was revealed last week.

Officials in southern Germany revealed that the haul recovered from a rundown Munich flat contains 1,406 pieces by masters, whose names read like a who's who of Western art of the last 150 years: Pablo Picasso, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, Gustave Courbet, Oskar Kokoschka, Emil Nolde.

But the collection goes back even further, with items by 16th century artist Albrecht Durer and 18th century painter Canaletto - works that have not been publicly seen for decades, if not longer.

"When you stand in front of works and see these long-lost works in good condition that were thought to have been destroyed, that is such a happy feeling," said Meike Hoffmann, an art expert at the Free University of Berlin who has been examining the haul. "The pictures are of extraordinary quality and are of huge scientific value. Many works were not known before."

Among the new discoveries are an allegorical scene by Chagall, a rare self-portrait by Otto Dix and a previously unknown painting of a woman attributed to Henri Matisse that probably dates to the 1920s.

In all, authorities seized 121 framed and 1,285 unframed works from the crowded apartment of Cornelius Gurlitt, the son of a well-known Nazi-era art dealer, in a raid on his flat early last year. The haul includes oil paintings, watercolors, etchings and drawings.