About Carl Spitzweg

Carl Spitzweg was born in Munich on the 5th of February 1808. He started his career as a painter copying dutch masterpieces of the 17th century in the museum "Alte Pinakothek" in his hometown.

At first sight the paintings of Spitzweg seem to be kitsch, but if you look at them a little closer, you will find the world of the german Bourgeois in the age of the so called "Biedermeier" described with passion and irony. Spitzweg also was a person, that made satirical pictures, which were published in newspapers. He very often stressed the anecdotic character of his motifs and introduces to us eccentrics like the poor poet.

His paintings are full of atmosphere, Spitzweg depicts romantic lanes and marvelous buildings, he catches the moonlight and the beginning dusk. The landscapes, which he got to know during his journeys to Italy, Switzerland, Austria and of course across Germany, are splendid, too, and at the same time mysterious. The art of his elder years can be described as easy and relaxed, nearly impressionistic. Carl Spitzweg died in Munich in the year 1885.