The Bookworm
Carl Spitzweg, c. 1850Fine art reproduction on 200gsm matte paper. A5 to A2, plus 12x16 and 18x24 inches.He climbed the ladder for one book. Now he holds four, and he has no plans to come down.
Carl Spitzweg painted The Bookworm around 1850. An elderly scholar stands at the top of a library ladder, a book pressed to his nose, another under his arm and a third wedged between his knees. Look closely at the gilded plaque above the shelves. It reads Metaphysik, the study of being itself. He is lost in the biggest questions of all, high above a floor we never see.
Spitzweg trained as a pharmacist and taught himself to paint by copying the Flemish masters. His gentle humour made him the great painter of the German Biedermeier age. He painted this scene three times. The first version sold in Vienna in 1852 and hangs today in the Museum Georg Schäfer in Schweinfurt. Another spent decades in Milwaukee's public library.
The look
Warm gold light on rows of old spines, deep green ceiling, a black coat and a pale face. Quiet, witty and full of books. Moody wall art for a home library, a reading room or a dark academia study. Lovely dark academia decor above a bookcase.
Sizes
| Size | Centimetres | Inches |
|---|---|---|
| A5 | 14.8 x 21 cm | 5.8 x 8.3 in |
| A4 | 21 x 29.7 cm | 8.3 x 11.7 in |
| A3 | 29.7 x 42 cm | 11.7 x 16.5 in |
| A2 | 42 x 59.4 cm | 16.5 x 23.4 in |
| 12 x 16 in | 30.5 x 40.6 cm | 12 x 16 in |
| 18 x 24 in | 45.7 x 61 cm | 18 x 24 in |
This painting stops at A2. Above that size the original photograph loses the fine detail of the brushwork, so the shop does not offer it.
Custom sizes on request. Inch sizes have a slightly different shape from A sizes, so the edges trim a little. Size guide
Frames and delivery
Choose a black, white or oak frame, or order the print unframed. It is printed locally in the UK, Europe, the US, Canada or Australia, at the location closest to you. Free tracked shipping, no customs fees. Printing and delivery
Gifting
A thoughtful gift for a housewarming, a birthday, a graduation or a new home library. A painting about losing yourself in a book.
More like this
More in our Library and Book Lover collection: Thorvald Boeck's Library by Harriet Backer and In the Library by Auguste Toulmouche. For more old books, see Still Life with Books by Jan Lievens in our Gothic and Memento Mori collection.
