Carl Spitzweg (1808 Munich - 1885 ibid.) The Music Comes (Nocturnal Round) Since around 1865, Spitzweg has repeatedly depicted nocturnal guards and bands, including the present painting. He composed the noisy procession scene in an otherwise quiet medieval town in southern Germany. In the foreground, the viewer gazes at a stone bridge, exceptionally illuminated by moonlight, with a passing band in military dress, flanked by a bridge saint and the towering, illuminated façades of two houses. While a drum major with a raised baton and three boys walk ahead on the left and right, rows of various wind instruments, a timpanist, a drummer and a musician with an Ottoman bell tree as a symbol of victory follow behind. A church tower can be seen in the darker, shadowed centre or background, in front of it a house with a golden illuminated window, and a loosely cloudy starry sky in the upper left quarter of the picture. In his sketchbook of 1868, Spitzweg noted in his own hand that the cityscape was shown in "blue evening light". Nocturnal music was a theme for the music-loving Spitzweg in many respects, especially as his uncle and concertmaster Joseph Moralt and his nephew by marriage were both important soloists in the Bavarian court orchestra. It also gave Spitzweg the opportunity to create numerous variations - scenes with and without singers, individual figures or groups. What they all have in common is the late hour with the moon or stars in the sky, which enabled him to masterfully depict highly effective lighting motifs. Oil/cardboard. Signed lower left with "S" in rhombus; old label verso with no. 470 (of the Spitzweg sales catalogue, went to Rome at the time). 16 cm x 31 cm. Frame. Exhibitions: "Carl Spitzweg und die französischen Zeichner (...)", Haus der Kunst Munich, 23 Nov. 1985-02 Feb. 1986, cat. book S. Wichmann, p. 371, no. 694, p. 496, no. 694; "Carl Spitzweg, Reisen und Wandern in Europa. Der Glückliche Winkel", Seedamm-Kulturzentrum Stiftung Charles und Agnes Vögele, Pfäffikon, 22.09.2002-05.01.2002, Haus der Kunst, Munich, 24.01.2003-18.05.2003. Catalogue raisonné: Siegfried Wichmann: "Carl Spitzweg. Catalogue raisonné of works. Gemälde und Aquarelle", Stuttgart 2002, no. 1594 (incorrectly assumed to be no. 344 in the sales catalogue). The original of the work was presented to Detlef Rosenberger in March 2025, who included it in the digital catalogue raisonné. Further reading: S. Wichmann: "Das große Spitzweg-Album", Herrsching 1984, p. 104, no. 153. S. Wichmann "Carl Spitzweg. Kunst, Kosten und Konflikte", Frankfurt and Berlin 1991, p. 338, no. 344. Provenance: German private collection, Berlin; Auktionshaus Kaupp, Sulzburg 04.12.2010, lot no. 1979; dissolution of a South German entrepreneur's collection. Oil on cardboard. Signed. Mentioned in the catalogue raisonné by Siegfried Wichmann (no. 1594).