| Beethoven with the Manuscript of the Missa Solemnis | |
|---|---|
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| Artist | Joseph Karl Stieler |
| Year | 1820 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Location | Beethoven-Haus, Bonn |
Beethoven with the Manuscript of the Missa Solemnis is a portrait of Ludwig van Beethoven by Joseph Karl Stieler, completed in 1820. It shows Beethoven holding a manuscript of his Missa solemnis . The painting is held by the Beethoven-Haus in Germany. Variations on the portrait were produced by, among others, Josef Kriehuber and Andy Warhol.
The portrait is in oil on canvas and shows Beethoven in a deep blue frock coat with a large white collar and red scarf. [1] His grey hair is "unruly, essentially uncombable". [1] He holds the manuscript of his Missa solemnis and appears to be writing. [1] In the background is a grape arbour. [2] The portrait is 72.0 by 58.5 centimetres (28.3 by 23.0 in). [3]
Alexander Wheelock Thayer wrote that the painting was "sketchy" and never fully finished. [4] Anton Schindler felt that the portrait accurately portrayed Beethoven's "characteristic expression", but the lowered head was inconsistent with Beethoven's usual posture. [4] Schindler also asserted that illness caused a marked change in Beethoven's appearance in this portrait as compared to earlier ones. [2]
According to John Clubbe, Stieler's design was "even more dramatic" than the previous portraits by Mähler, using the same portrait of Beethoven's grandfather for inspiration and highlighting "the composer's revolutionary sympathies". [1] Alessandra Comini stated that the portrait included "all the elements dear to future mythmakers", including "genius inspired by inner voices in the presence of nature, with leonine hair writhing wildly in symbolic parallel to the seething turbulence of creativity". [2]
The painting was started in 1819 [4] and completed in April 1820. [5] It was commissioned by Franz and Antonie Brentano, who were, according to Beethoven, his "best friends in the world". [6] Stieler, who was noted for his portraiture, was in Vienna to paint Emperor Franz at the time he met Beethoven. [4] Beethoven saw having his portrait made as a form of "penance" and allowed only three or four sittings, [4] [6] requiring that Stieler finish painting the body and the portrait's background without him. [2] As a result, according to Alessandra Comini, "Beethoven's arms are not convincingly attached to his shoulders"; later versions of the portrait address this by omitting the arms entirely. [2] Upon completion the portrait was exhibited alongside the Dietrich bust. [2]
The portrait's early ownership history is "obscure"; it may have been briefly held by the Brentano family. [5] Thayer stated that it was initially owned by Stieler's family. [4] It was eventually owned by Wilhelm Spohr, brother of composer Louis Spohr. On his death in 1860, it passed to Rosalie, Countess Sauerma, his daughter. [7]
From 1909 the painting was owned by Henri Hinrichsen of Leipzig, a music publisher with an extensive art collection. This collection, including the portrait of Beethoven, was plundered by the Nazis; Hinrichsen was killed in the Holocaust. After the end of the Second World War in 1945 Henri's son Walter successfully reclaimed some of Henri's collection and brought the portrait to New York City. In 1981 he had a copy made and sold the original to the Beethoven-Haus. [7]
Stieler painted a miniature version of the portrait on ivory. This he gave to Antonie Brentano. [5]
Lithographs of the portrait were published by Artaria in 1826; [4] Beethoven distributed copies to his friends. [1] Comini writes that the "extensive lithographic reproduction" of the work resulted in it having "the greatest influence on Beethoven iconography". [2]
Variations on the portrait were produced by, among others, Josef Kriehuber (1841) [2] and Andy Warhol (1987). [8]
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire and span the transition from the Classical period to the Romantic era in classical music. Beethoven's career has conventionally been divided into early, middle, and late periods. His early period, during which he forged his craft, is typically considered to have lasted until 1802. From 1802 to around 1812, his middle period showed an individual development from the styles of Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and is sometimes characterized as heroic. During this time, he began to grow increasingly deaf. In his late period, from 1812 to 1827, he extended his innovations in musical form and expression.
Domenico Carlo Maria Dragonetti was an Italian double bass virtuoso and composer with a 3 string double bass. He stayed for thirty years in his hometown of Venice, Italy and worked at the Opera Buffa, at the Chapel of San Marco and at the Grand Opera in Vicenza. By that time he had become notable throughout Europe and had turned down several opportunities, including offers from the Tsar of Russia. In 1794, he finally moved to London to play in the orchestra of the King's Theatre, and settled there for the remainder of his life. In fifty years, he became a prominent figure in the musical events of the English capital, performing at the concerts of the Philharmonic Society of London as well as in more private events, where he would meet the most influential persons in the country, like the Prince Consort and the Duke of Leinster. He was acquainted with composers Joseph Haydn and Ludwig van Beethoven, whom he visited on several occasions in Vienna, and to whom he showed the possibilities of the double bass as a solo instrument. His ability on the instrument also demonstrated the relevance of writing scores for the double bass in the orchestra separate from that of the cello, which was the common rule at the time. He is also remembered today for the Dragonetti bow, which he developed throughout his life.
Immortal Beloved is a 1994 biographical film written and directed by Bernard Rose and starring Gary Oldman, Jeroen Krabbé, Isabella Rossellini and Johanna ter Steege. The film narrates the life of composer Ludwig van Beethoven in flashbacks while it follows Beethoven's secretary and first biographer Anton Schindler's (Krabbé) quest to ascertain the true identity of the Unsterbliche Geliebte addressed in three letters found in the late composer's private papers. Schindler journeys throughout the Austrian Empire interviewing women who might be potential candidates, as well as through Beethoven's own tumultuous life.
The Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73, known as the Emperor Concerto in English-speaking countries, is a concerto composed by Ludwig van Beethoven for piano and orchestra. Beethoven composed the concerto in 1809 under salary in Vienna, and he dedicated it to Archduke Rudolf, who was his patron, friend, and pupil. Its public premiere was on 28 November 1811 in Leipzig, with Friedrich Schneider as the soloist and Johann Philipp Christian Schulz conducting the Gewandhaus Orchestra. Beethoven, usually the soloist, could not perform due to declining hearing.
Anton Felix Schindler was an Austrian law clerk and associate, secretary, and early biographer of Ludwig van Beethoven.
The Immortal Beloved is the addressee of a love letter which composer Ludwig van Beethoven wrote on 6 or 7 July 1812 in Teplitz in what would be today Czech Republic. The unsent letter is written in pencil on 10 small pages. It was found in the composer's estate following his death and is now in the Berlin State Library.
The Piano Sonata No. 31 in A♭ major, Op. 110, by Ludwig van Beethoven was composed in 1821 and published in 1822. It is the middle piano sonata in the group of three that he wrote between 1820 and 1822, and is the penultimate of his piano sonatas. Though the sonata was commissioned in 1820, Beethoven did not begin work on Op. 110 until the latter half of 1821, and final revisions were completed in early 1822. The delay was due to factors such as Beethoven's work on the Missa solemnis and his deteriorating health. The original edition was published by Schlesinger in Paris and Berlin in 1822 without dedication, and an English edition was published by Muzio Clementi in 1823.
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109, composed in 1820, is the third-to-last of his piano sonatas. In it, after the huge Hammerklavier Sonata, Op. 106, Beethoven returns to a smaller scale and a more intimate character. It is dedicated to Maximiliane Brentano, the daughter of Beethoven's long-standing friend Antonie Brentano, for whom Beethoven had already composed the short Piano Trio in B♭ major WoO 39 in 1812. Musically, the work is characterised by a free and original approach to the traditional sonata form. Its focus is the third movement, a set of variations that interpret its theme in a wide variety of individual ways.
Johann Nepomuk Schelble, was a German conductor, composer, singer (tenor) and music teacher. Best known as the founding conductor of Cäcilienverein, he also helped revive interest in the work of Johann Sebastian Bach.
The Beethoven House in Bonn, Germany, is a memorial site, museum, and cultural institution serving various purposes. Founded in 1889 by the Beethoven-Haus association, it studies the life and work of composer Ludwig van Beethoven.
Antonie Brentano, born Johanna Antonie Josefa Edle von Birkenstock and known as Toni, was an Austrian philanthropist, art collector, arts patron, and close friend of Beethoven, being the dedicatee of his "Diabelli" variations.
The Beethoven Monument is a large bronze statue of Ludwig van Beethoven that stands on the Münsterplatz in Bonn, Beethoven's birthplace. It was unveiled on 12 August 1845, in honour of the 75th anniversary of the composer's birth.
Joseph Czerny was a pianist, composer, music publisher, and piano teacher from the Austrian Empire. He was not related to Carl Czerny.
Josef Eduard Teltscher was an Austrian painter and lithographer. He was one of the best Viennese portrait lithographers and watercolourists of the first half of the nineteenth century in Central Europe, and as a miniaturist, according to his contemporaries, he was no less than Moritz Daffinger himself.
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The Allegretto for Piano Trio, WoO 39, in B-flat major is a composition for piano trio by Ludwig van Beethoven that was composed in 1812 as a gift for Maximiliane Brentano, the then ten-year-old daughter of his friend Antonie Brentano. Eight years later he also dedicated the Piano Sonata Op. 109 to Maximiliane. The composition was first published in 1830 by F. P. Dunst in Frankfurt, along with the Piano Trio in E-flat major, WoO 38, and the Piano Sonata in C major, WoO 51.
Franz Klein (1779–1840) was an Austrian sculptor; he was born and died in Vienna. He is known particularly for his bust of Ludwig van Beethoven, made in 1812.
Franz Xaver Gebauer, born in Prussian Silesia, was an organist, composer of church music, and choirmaster and music director of the Augustinian Church, Vienna. Before his early death he organised the 'Concerts Spirituels' which promoted German music in Vienna at a time when Italian opera was particularly popular.
Ludwig or Ludovicusvan Beethoven the Elder was a Flemish professional singer and music director, best known as the grandfather of the composer Ludwig van Beethoven.
The Pasqualati House, notable for being a residence of Ludwig van Beethoven, is located in the 1st district of Vienna's Inner City, on the corner of Mölker Bastei 8 and Schreyvogelgasse 16, in an exposed position on the ramp of the former town fortifications. The building, completed in 1797 and home to the composer on several occasions, houses a Beethoven museum in an apartment adjoining the one Beethoven regularly occupied.
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