“The Poor Poet”
“The Poor Poet” is an oil on canvas painting by the German artist, Carl Spitzweg, from 1839. It is his most famous and recognizable painting.
Spitzweg is most known for his importance during the Biedermeier era of the mid-nineteenth century. The middle-class grew and prospered while Europe went through a period of political stability. The growing urban middle class wanted to purchase art. The popular art changed to reflect the middle-class and their daily lives, was generally political, and focused instead on the domestic side of life.
In this piece we see a poor poet; a romantic notion even today, but especially during the Romantic period of the mid-nineteenth century. A poor poet is seen in his room laying down on his bed and working on his poetry. He holds his quill in his mouth while counting out the meters of his poem with his fingers. Meanwhile, the rain is leaking through the roof, held at bay only by a strategically placed umbrella. The poet lies on his mattress on the floor, wearing his sleeping jacket and a sleeping cap as extra protection against the cold. He lives in a small room in the attic, with his few material goods strewn about. The white on the roofs outside the one window in the room suggests that it is wintertime.
Spitzweg is poking fun at the idea of a poet suffering for his art. He is lying in his bed to keep warm and totally focused on writing his poetry, unencumbered by the state of the room around him. Nothing matters to him but his art. Meanwhile, his own works sit in the wood stove, as they provide the only source of heat. Spitzweg’s humorous realism was a softer way to express his sentiments than political satire.
When this piece was first exhibited in 1839 it was heavily criticized as taking a jab at not only poetry, but art itself. People thought he was making fun of all poor artists.
Spitzweg made three copies of this painting. One is in a private collection, one is the version seen here, and one was in the collections of the National Gallery in Berlin when it was stolen in 1989 and is yet to be recovered. He made an initial sketch drawing of this piece with pencil and tracing paper in 1837, which is in the collections of the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg, Germany.
This version of “The Poor Poet” is currently in the collections of the Neue Pinakothek in Munich, Germany.
For more on Carl Spitzweg, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
