Carl Spitzweg

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Carl Spitzweg

German painter

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Feb 17, 2025 • Article History

Quick Facts

Born:: February 5, 1808, Unterpfaffenhofen, near Munich, Bavaria [Germany]

Died:: September 23, 1885, Munich (aged 77)

Movement / Style:: Biedermeier style

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Carl Spitzweg (born February 5, 1808, Unterpfaffenhofen, near Munich, Bavaria [Germany]—died September 23, 1885, Munich) is recognized as the most representative of the German artists working in the Biedermeier syle.

Spitzweg is commonly identified as having been born in Unterpfaffenhofen, close to Munich. Trained in pharmacy at the University of Vienna, he was a pharmacist and newspaper illustrator before becoming a painter in 1833. He lived in Munich and traveled widely in Europe.

Spitzweg’s choice of subjects was local and domestic: tenderly, humorously, and with firm control of light, shadow, composition, and detail, he portrayed small town misfits, street musicians, postmen, night watchmen, and lovers bidding farewell.

"The Birth of Venus," tempera on canvas by Sandro Botticelli, c. 1485; in the Uffizi, Florence.

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The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by J.E. Luebering.