Carl Spitzweg (1808 Munich - 1885 ibid.) Farmstead by a pond View of a summery, light-flooded landscape. Almost the entire width of the foreground is taken up by the shallow pond, with five white ducks on the far bank and behind it a fence with pieces of laundry laid across it. On the right-hand side of the picture, tall bushes and oaks rise up in front of the white house with a red tiled roof, on the left a weir and other bushes and willow trees, and behind them the gently undulating land under a cloudy, light blue sky with birds in flight. In the present work, created around 1860, Spitzweg's great and formative influence of the Barbizon School, with which he captured the landscape, its mood and the light, is obvious. Spitzweg, a member of the Munich Art Society since 1835, exhibited successfully on many occasions from 1839 onwards. Initially, he depicted the tranquil life of the Biedermeier bourgeoisie and oddball eccentrics. In his later works, landscapes became increasingly important, influenced in particular 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 impression on both artists. In this painting Spitzweg also shows this in a freer, more two-dimensional style of painting, in which Spitzweg was concerned with the overall mood, which is heightened here by the light. Spitzweg thus became one of the pioneers of Impressionism in Germany. Oil/wood panel. L. and incised signature ("S" in rhombus, signature type c. 1860). Verso label of the exhibition "Carl-Spitzweg und sein Freundeskreis", Haus der Kunst, Munich 1967 with no. 61. 14.5 cm x 30 cm. Frame. We would like to thank Mr Detlef Rosenberger, Oberostendorf, for his kind information. He will include the work in the digital catalogue raisonné of Spitzweg's paintings. Listed in the catalogue raisonné by Siegfried Wichmann: "Carl Spitzweg. Verzeichnis der Werke (...)", Stuttgart 2002, no. 1154 (with illus.) Further literature and exhibitions: Günther Roennefahrt: "Carl Spitzweg. Beschreibendes Verzeichnis seiner Gemälde, Ölstudien und Aquarelle", Munich 1960, no. 242 (with colour illus. on p. 38); "Carl-Spitzweg und sein Freundeskreis", exhibition with cat., Haus der Kunst, Munich 1967/68, exhibition director S. Wichmann. Cat. no. 61 (with illus.); S. Wichmann: "Carl Spitzweg", Munich 1990, pp. 188, 218, no. 135. Provenance: Formerly owned by Matthias Ebenböck (1819-1905) Munich; 1960 in private collection in Augsburg (according to Roennefahrt); since 1967 (or earlier) in private collection in Munich. Oil on panel. Signed. Exhibition label from 1967 on the reverse. Mentioned in the catalogue raisonné by Siegfried Wichmann (no.1154) and Gunther Roennefahrt (no. 242).