Flying Kites

Carl Spitzweg prints bring gentle humour and small-town charm into your home. Spitzweg was a German Romantic painter and one of the most important artists of the Biedermeier era, known for affectionate pictures of bookworms, poets, hermits and other eccentrics. Our collection of fine art prints covers his genre scenes, town watchmen, sorcerers, mountain landscapes and forest views.

About Carl Spitzweg

Carl Spitzweg was born in Munich on 5 February 1808, the second of three sons of Simon Spitzweg, a respected merchant, and Franziska Schmutzer. His strict father tried to stop him drawing and decided he should be a pharmacist. He began an apprenticeship in a Munich pharmacy in 1825, worked at a pharmacy in Straubing in 1829, and studied pharmacy, botany and chemistry at the University of Munich, graduating with honours in 1832.

In 1833, while recovering from an illness at Bad Sulz, he decided to give up pharmacy and paint full-time, helped by his share of the family inheritance. He was self-taught and began by copying Flemish masters. In 1835 he joined the Munich Art Association, and from 1844 he published many humorous drawings in the weekly magazine Fliegende Blätter.

He travelled to Dalmatia, Venice, and in 1851 with the landscape painter Eduard Schleich to Paris and London, where they saw the first world exhibition. Over his life he made more than 1,500 pictures and drawings and sold around 400 paintings, mostly to the new middle class. He died of a stroke in Munich on 23 September 1885 and was buried in the Alter Südfriedhof.

Style and Subjects

Spitzweg's small paintings show the Biedermeier middle classes, eccentrics and romantic moments with warmth and wit. He showed human weaknesses but never cruelty, and his scholars, poets, watchmen and collectors are drawn with affection. The narrow streets, bay windows and fountains of small towns like Straubing appear again and again, as in Die Stadtwache.

His pharmacy training gave him a chemist's knowledge of paint, including a bright blue of his own. Through his friend Eduard Schleich he also painted mountain views, forest corners and fields in good weather. His later style became looser, closer to Impressionism.

Famous Works

• The Poor Poet (1839), -. His best-known work: a poet in bed in a cold attic.
• The Bookworm (1850), Museum Georg Schäfer, Schweinfurt. A scholar reading on a library ladder.
• The Intercepted Love Letter (1860), Museum Georg Schäfer, Schweinfurt. A small-town love note caught in passing.
• The Geologist (1860), Von der Heydt Museum, Wuppertal. A scholar absorbed in his rocks.
• The Hypochondriac (1865), Neue Pinakothek, Munich. One of his sharply drawn eccentrics.
• Magician and Dragon (1875), Museum Georg Schäfer, Schweinfurt. A fairy-tale encounter.
• Flying Kites (1880), Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin. Children flying kites in open country.

Decorating with Spitzweg Prints

Spitzweg's scholars and bookworms are a natural fit for a library, study, home office or reading nook. The Bookworm and The alchemist make good gifts for readers, teachers and collectors.

His mountain and forest scenes, like Die Sennerin auf dem Waldsteg, suit a living room or bedroom in traditional, Alpine or cottage style, and their soft greens and browns go well with wood and warm neutrals.

FAQ

Who was Carl Spitzweg?

Carl Spitzweg (1808–1885) was a German Romantic painter of genre scenes and one of the most important artists of the Biedermeier era.

What is Carl Spitzweg's most famous painting?

The Poor Poet (1839) is his best-known and most popular work, followed by The Bookworm (1850).

Was Spitzweg a trained artist?

No. He trained and qualified as a pharmacist, then taught himself to paint, starting by copying Flemish masters.

How many works did Spitzweg make?

More than 1,500 pictures and drawings. He sold around 400 paintings in his lifetime, mostly to middle-class buyers.

Related Artists

• Moritz von Schwind: Munich Romantic painter of the same generation
• Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller: leading Austrian Biedermeier painter
• Wilhelm Busch: fellow contributor of humorous drawings to Fliegende Blätter