Artist: Carl Spitzweg
Date: 1855
Museum: Grohmann Museum (Milwaukee, United States)
Technique: Oil On Canvas
An official is taking a late morning break from his office work, and is looking with great affection at his fosterling that has just produced a red flower, almost as if he was in love with it. The cactus is returning the affectionate feeling; it does not grow towards the light but in the direction of its foster father. The large Biedermeier clock symbolizes the passing of time; the official is quite beyond his youth, and the cactus might mirror his hope that he could still experience a late May in his life. The only hint at the type of work the official does are the bundles of papers that are lying in heaps on the floor. Perhaps those at the wall are ready to be taken to the archives, while the bundles in the foreground must still be checked.In his own handwritten sales record of this painting, Spitzweg added the words
Artist |
|
|---|---|
Download |
|
Permissions |
Free for non commercial use. See below. |
 |
This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired. However - you may not use this image for commercial purposes and you may not alter the image or remove the watermark. This applies to the United States, Canada, the European Union and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 70 years.
|
Note that a few countries have copyright terms longer than 70 years: Mexico has 100 years, Colombia has 80 years, and Guatemala and Samoa have 75 years. This image may
not be in the public domain in these countries, which moreover do not implement the
