63 - Carl Spitzweg (1808 – Munich – 1885), *The Well-Wisher*.

Carl Spitzweg (1808 – Munich – 1885), *The Well-Wisher*. Oil on oak panel. (c. 1860). Approx. 28.5 x 14 cm. Monogrammed “S” in a rhombus at the lower right and on the reverse. Wichmann 327. With an expert opinion by Adolf Alt, Munich, dated September 9, 1931 (copy). With an expert opinion by Dr. Eberhard Hanfstaengl, Munich, dated August 21, 1963 (copy). This is a typical painting by Carl Spitzweg—the narrow portrait format directs the viewer’s gaze toward a small courtyard in a medieval-looking town, at the center of which stands the figure of the well-wisher with his back to the viewer. Dressed in an old-fashioned, medieval surcoat and wearing a beret, he waits for his beloved: Holding a lush, flowering plant in each arm, he looks up in hope that his beloved might appear—but instead of her, he encounters her mother or governess, leaning out of the window on the first floor. As so often, Spitzweg depicts here the failure of hopeful love when the sexes meet. The mother’s stern, suspicious gaze shatters every illusion; what Spitzweg portrays as a romantic idyll turns out, upon closer inspection, to be a mirage: The solemn, almost shy gesture of the aging bachelor, left behind by the times, comes to nothing due to the unexpected encounter with the mother—the man lives in a romantic, backward-looking dream world that collides with the harsh reality of bourgeois conventions. The well-wisher stands before the locked gate that denies him entry into this world. The composition adds to the effect: The narrow portrait format underscores the hierarchies, with the confident but naive suitor standing in the glaring light of hope, while above him, in the shadow of the window, appears the mother, who rebuffs him. It is this discrepancy between desire and reality, between hope and disappointment, that lends Spitzweg’s paintings that touch of comedy and humor with which he exposes bourgeois conventions. The courtship takes place against the backdrop of a small town with a medieval feel, featuring half-timbered houses, an idyllic fountain in the foreground, but also small windows and a sense of confinement that extends beyond the closed gate, where the houses stand tightly packed together and allow only a sparse glimpse of the blue sky. Spitzweg’s towns are concentrated within a small space, often with an almost claustrophobic sense of confinement that simultaneously offers a sense of security. It is this juxtaposition of confinement and security in Spitzweg’s work that is generally associated with the Biedermeier era, during which, following the end of the Congress of Vienna in 1815 and the subsequent Restoration, the bourgeoisie had retreated into the private sphere. At the same time, a climate of intellectual oppression emerged, in which censorship and surveillance by the authorities were the order of the day—even in Spitzweg’s paintings, nothing remains secret; every step in public space is observed: Here, strict morality—embodied by the mother at the window—keeps watch over the attempts at courtship between the sexes. Beyond their humor and comedy, Spitzweg’s paintings are always studies of social milieu in which the theme of social control plays a prominent role. Spitzweg explored the theme of the suitor or courting man in numerous versions and variations (Wichmann 322–327) in a way that, beyond the contradictions of bourgeois conventions, touches on his own biography —After the death of his great love at a young age, Spitzweg remained a suitor for the rest of his life, never entering into a closer relationship. Dr. Peter Prange Exhibition: Carl Spitzweg. Traveling and Wandering in Europe. Der Glückliche Winkel, Seedamm Cultural Center, Pfäffikon SZ, Charles and Agnes Vögele Foundation, Jan. 24, 2002–May 5,1, 2003 / Haus der Kunst, Munich, Jan. 24–May 4, 2003, cat. no. 192. Bibliography: Wichmann, Siegfried, Carl Spitzweg. *Der Gratulant*, Documentation, Starnberg-Munich, R.f.v.u.a.K. 1991, p. 5ff, Bavarian State Library, Munich, Inv. No. Ana 656 SW 43; Wichmann, Siegfried, Carl Spitzweg. *The Congratulator*. Documentation, Starnberg–Munich, R.f.v.u.a.K., 1996, pp. 13ff, Bavarian State Library, Munich, Inv. No. Ana 656 SW 108. Provenance: Galerie Grosshennig, Düsseldorf, 1955; Private collection, West Germany; Private collection, Europe; Koller Auctions, Zurich, September 22, 2017, Lot 3218; Private collection, Southern Germany. Taxation: subject to margin scheme (VAT: Margin Scheme).