[2] His mother belonged to Munich's upper middle class as the daughter of a wealthy fruit wholesaler.

Simon Spitzweg was an educated businessman who gained respect and reputation in Munich through his political activities.

After his mother died, in 1819, in same year, his father married his late wife's sister, Maria Krescence.

Although his artistic talent was early, with his first drawing from 1823, Carl Spitzweg was obedient to his father and began his apprenticeship in the “city pharmacy” with Sigmund Lober in February 1825.

Spitzweg began studying pharmacy, botany and chemistry at the University of Munich in 1830, which he completed with honors in 1832.

During a spa stay in Bad Sulz, Peißenberg, after an illness, he decided to devote himself to painting in a full-time level.

This was followed by trips to Dalmatia (1839), Venice (1850), and, in the company of the landscape painter Eduard Schleich, to Paris, London, where they visited the first world exhibition, in 1851.

[4] Spitzweg spent his travels to these European cities studying the works of various artists and refining his technique and style.

What Spitzweg particularly appreciated about this idyllic town was the picturesque small townscape with the narrow streets and graceful bay windows, the turrets, fountains and stone figures.

In his small format paintings, he depicts the Biedermeier petty bourgeoisie, the oddball eccentrics and romantic events.

From his long travels, Spitzweg brought home a rich collection of sketches, which he used to create his paintings in the studio.

[9] In the late 1930s an art forgery case in Germany involved 54 paintings which had been passed off as Spitzweg originals.

[12][13] His paintings inspired the musical comedy Das kleine Hofkonzert (1933), by Edmund Nick, who itself was later adapted into several films.