Carl Spitzweg. Sweet old Germany

Carl Spitzweg (1808 – 1885) was a German romanticist painter, illustrator and poet. He is considered to be an important representatives of the Biedermeier style.
Biedermeier refers to work in the fields of literature, music, the visual arts in the period between 1815 and 1848, and contrasts with the Romantic era which preceded it. The style corresponds to the Regency style in England, Federal style in the United States and to the French Empire style.
His father, a wealthy merchant, had Carl trained as a pharmacist. While recovering from an illness Carl took up painting. Spitzweg was self-taught artist, and started by copying old masters. He completely dedicated himself to painting after receiving an inheritance in 1833.



Spitzweg reminds Andersen's fairy tales, but always happy-ending.
In many of his works he recreated the atmosphere of old European cities without topographical or historical accuracy. He depicted touching and funny stories and loved to appear frivolous. He left more than 1500 paintings and drawings.