The Old Fortress Commandant

In “The Old Fortress Commandant”, the author has found it important to reveal an apparently unobservable event; in a romantic landscape by an old fortress, the commandant is sitting with his dog, smoking a pipe and reminiscing about old times. The psychological subtlety, mysteriousness and emphatically light mood of this painting is characteristic of other works by Spitzweg. The author is engaged in a reflection on how organised, fulfilled and peaceful solitude can be, as opposed to the tragedy and loneliness that can sometimes lie hidden in an active social life.