Carl Spitzweg. (1808 Munich - 1885 ibid.) The path through the ravine This small-format landscape, painted around 1865-1870, shows a small girl or female figure dressed in a blue jacket and depicted from behind, standing on a narrow path at the tree-lined entrance to a ravine flanked by steep cliffs. As is often the case, Spitzweg chose a narrow, elongated portrait format, which corresponds to both the motif and the general theme of the painting. This painting is also exemplary of Spitzweg's mastery of landscape painting, in which he gives the viewer an authentic, first poetic impression, a passing moment of lonely, harsh nature. After initially depicting Biedermeier life and oddball eccentrics in detailed genre paintings, Spitzweg later turned increasingly to landscape painting. He was particularly influenced by his close friend Eduard Schleich the Elder, who is regarded as an important pioneer of open-air painting in Germany. Spitzweg travelled with him on numerous trips, including to Paris in 1851, where the Barbizon School made a great and lasting impression on both of them. The Barbizon influence is also evident in this painting, which Spitzweg executed with verve and partly in impasto, in a freer, more two-dimensional, summary style of painting in the depiction of the rocks and the sky. Here Spitzweg was no longer concerned with the realistic depiction of details, but with the overall mood, which is heightened here by the light and shadows. Spitzweg's painting subsequently became more and more open and flooded with light, the figural staffage receded more and more; he found his own progressive tendencies that paved the way for Impressionism. Oil on canvas, mounted on card. Estate stamp on verso. 20.7 x 8.1 cm. Frame. The painting will be included in the digital catalogue raisonné of Spitzweg paintings by Detlef Rosenberger, Oberostendorf. Enclosed: Expertise documentation by Dr Horst G. Ludwig, Munich. 20.07.2018. General reference: Siegfried Wichmann, Carl Spitzweg, Verzeichnis der Werke, Gemälde und Aquarelle, Stuttgart 2002. Provenance: Private property, Southern Germany; auction Karl & Faber, Munich, 04.05.2018, lot 44. Oil on canvas, laid down on cardboard. Estate stamp on the reverse. The artwork will be recorded by Detlef Rosenberger in the online catalogue raisonné of paintings by Spitzweg. Attached appraise documentation by Dr. H.G. Ludwig, Munich, 2018.