Carl Spitzweg was a German romantic painter, especially of genre subjects. He is considered to be one of the most important artists of the Biedermeier era.
Carl Spitzweg in a photograph taken c. 1860
The Bookworm, original 1850, Museum Georg Schäfer. Two other versions exist.
The Biedermeier period was an era in the art and culture of the German Confederation between 1815 and 1848 during which the middle classes grew in number and artists began producing works appealing to
Carl Spitzweg
…1808 – September 23, 1885) was a German romantic painter, especially of genre subjects. He is considered to be one of the most important artists of the Biedermeier era. Spitzweg was born in Munich, Bavaria, the second of three sons of Franziska (née Schmutzer) and Simon Spitzweg. His mother belonged to Munich's…
Austrian Biedermeier sofa, c. 1815–1825, mahogany, upholstery (not original), Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (Montreal, Canada)
Emperor Francis I of Austria in his study at the Hofburg Palace. The interior is in the Biedermeier style. The Concert of Europe, ensured by the Austrian chancellor and foreign minister Klemens von Metternich, enabled the period of peace in which Biedermeier sensibilities developed.
Biedermeier room in the museum of Chrzanów, Poland