Carl Spitzweg, Serenade (violin at midnight on the ladder) - 1850

by Atelier Liesjes

The violinist of Spitzweg - who performs a serenade - is insecurely near the top of a ladder, above the roofs, preoccupied with a song dedicated to an unseen love interest. At the centre of the composition, the violinist wears a military / band uniform: he has a beard and glasses in a blue waistcoat with tails and a blue cap with a short beak. He is confronted with a dimly lit window with a flowerpot on the edge, which focuses his song and his attention on an anonymous lover inside. Spitzweg places the musician in a delicate position because he makes a risky move, both physically and metaphysically. Beyond this musical scene, the dark grey night sky mixes with cathedral-like architecture in the distance. The painting is poetic, musical and whimsical, just like many of Spitzweg's compositions.
Carl Spitzweg (Germering, 5 February 1808 - 23 September 1885) was a German painter and poet. He is regarded as one of the most important artists of the Biedermeier era. His first works appeared in satirical magazines. His paintings are often humorous genre pieces. Many of his paintings depict caricatures of eccentrics.