Carl Spitzweg

Carl Spitzweg

Carl Spitzweg was a German Romantic artist who lived from 1808 to 1885. He is most known for his importance during the Biedermeier era of the mid-nineteenth century. During the Biedermeier period, Europe went through a period of political stability and the middle-class grew and prospered. The growing urban middle class wanted to purchase art. The popular art changed to reflect the middle-class and their daily lives, was generally not political, and focused instead on the domestic side of life.

Spitzweg was born in Unterpfaffenhofen in southern Germany to a wealthy merchant. His father initially wanted him to become a pharmacist. Spitzweg went to the University of Munich to become a pharmacist and even completed his education. However, during an illness he took up painting to pass the time. After his recovery, he decided to pursue painting as well. 

Spitzweg was entirely self-taught. He learned to paint from copying the Flemish masters. In his early career, he worked as a pharmacist as well as a newspaper illustration. After receiving his inheritance in 1833, at 25 years old, he was able to turn his entire attention to art. By 1837, he had sold his first painting. 

Spitzweg traveled extensively, always seeking out the art museums on his journeys to gain inspiration. He often created what is more often regarded as caricatures of people, and he did a lot of work creating illustrations for satire magazines. It is because of this that he is often referred to as the “German Hogarth” in reference to the English artist, William Hogarth. In 1868, Spitzweg received an honorary membership to the Academy of Visual Arts, which was his most formal relationship with an art institute. He died in 1885 at 77 years old.

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