The peak of German realism was marked by the artworks of Adolf Menzel, a brilliant painter and drawing artist. Ambitious in his artistic pursuits, Menzel tried to capture life in all its diversity. The best qualities of his art can be seen in paintings and studies made directly from nature in a broad, free manner. He is distinctive in his accurate depiction of actions, interiors, and costumes, as well as his ability to capture the most important features of a subject. 

In his small artwork Traveling Circus, Menzel conveyed his impressions from his journey to the Alps. Garmisch and Partenkirchen are old market towns 100 km southwest of Munich. They are also well known as summer resorts. In 1935, they formed the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen.  In this gouache painting, Menzel is demonstratively narrative: he added exotic characters to the composition filled with figures. In the summer of 1884, Menzel created his studies in valleys of the Bavarian and the Austrian Alps. He also used the sketches made there in his later works. This painting is one of the most colorful. The people standing on the balcony were probably the Hertel family, whom Menzel visited in Hofgastein many times in the 1870s. Their younger son Fritz was the artist’s godchild.