A hunter looking to a young girl 1875

Carl Spitzweg painted "A hunter looking to a young girl" in oil on canvas sometime in the mid-19th century. The artist was a key figure of the German Biedermeier era, and this painting epitomizes the period’s interest in romantic, idealized scenes of everyday life. Consider the social context: this work emerges from a time of growing nationalism in Germany, with increasing interest in folklore and rural life. Spitzweg's scene romanticizes the Bavarian landscape. We might ask, what kind of social function does this idealized representation perform? The painting invites viewers to imagine a simpler, more wholesome existence. Spitzweg was part of a growing art market that catered to middle-class tastes. His paintings offered an escape from the rapidly industrializing cities. If you want to explore this work further, think about the ways art historians might investigate the emergence of folklore as a national project, or the relationship between urbanization and representations of rural life.