VON SPITZWEG ZU SISI
Die Sammlung Werner Friedrich Ott
PUBLICATION OUT OF PRINT
In the Biedermeier scenes and idylls of the early works by Carl Spitzweg
(1808–1885), odd misfits, soldiers, monks and maids are all featured in the
middle-class provincial milieu of the time. Informed by a free painting
style, however, the landscapes of his late works anticipate Impressionism.
Comprising 430 objects, the Werner Friedrich Ott Collection in the Stadtmuseum
Ingolstadt includes, alongside paintings and drawings by Spitzweg, an extensive Historicist collection of arts-and-crafts objects.
In a time when political, economic and social relations in Europe underwent
complete change, the nobility and an increasingly stronger middle
class often drew upon the authoritative symbolism used to establish their
identity of earlier times. They placed great value on the exquisite handcrafted
work and most luxurious materials of their goblets, pitchers,
services
and jewellery items. Particularly coveted were objects furnished
with dedications from prominent personages, such as Empress Elisabeth
‘Sisi’ of Austria.
