The German composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) is among the most admired composers in the history of Western music,[1] and has been the subject of many private and public sculptures, including busts, reliefs, statues and others. The first, a bust by Franz Klein, was commissioned by Johann Andreas Streicher and created in 1812, while the composer was still alive.[2] After Beethoven's death in 1827, his hometown, Bonn, immediately began planning a monument for the following year,[3] though a cholera outbreak delayed this.[4] A design competition was eventually held, in which a submission by Ernst Julius Hähnel beat ones from Friedrich von Amerling, Gustav Blaeser and Friedrich Drake. In 1845, Hähnel's monument was erected, due to finances given by Robert Schumann, Charles Hallé, George Thomas Smart and especially Franz Liszt.[3][5] While the monument's height and simplicity were criticized, the reliefs surrounding the base were met with public approval.[5] The statue's representation of a figure standing on a decorated base with its legs slightly apart was popular at the time, and later inspired Theodore Baur's statue of c. 1895 in the Library of Congress.[6]

The Beethoven monuments that followed Hähnel's, while retaining a high pedestal,[7] began to portray the composer in a less simplistic and increasingly heroic light.[8] The most significant representative of this, and the most famous Beethoven monument from the second half of the 19th century, was Kaspar von Zumbusch's 1880 monument in Beethovenplatz [de], Vienna.[9] The city had intended to erect a monument for Beethoven since his death,[3] but serious action to do so began only in the 1870s, when a competition for a design was held and Zumbusch's winning design was created with financial support from Liszt and Brahms.[10]

In the early 20th century, the glorified portrayals of Beethoven reached their peak, with god-like representations such as Max Klinger's monument (1902), unveiled at the Vienna Secession[11] (now in the Museum der bildenden Künste),[12] and Fidus's unexecuted design for a 'Beethoven temple' (1903).[13] The 20th century also saw a brief return to the simplistic style of the 19th century, such as Robert Weigl's statue at the Heiligenstädter Park [de] in Vienna (1910) and Hugo Uher's [cs] statue in Karlsbad (1929).[14] Also at this time, Antoine Bourdelle and Naoum Aronson, both students of Auguste Rodin, began creating busts of the composer; Bourdelle was especially prolific.[15] As the century progressed, ideas on depicting Beethoven became largely ununified, and were often especially allegorical, such as Theodor von Gosen's monument in Alameda Central, Mexico City (1921).[16] In 1926, Berlin hosted a monument competition in preparation for the composer's 100th anniversary the following year; the entire competition was controversial and was eventually canceled due to criticism from the press and the committee's inability to form a consensus.[17] There had been submissions from famous sculptors including Ernst Barlach, Peter Breuer and Georg Kolbe, although Breuer and Kolbe eventually had their designs constructed in 1938 and 1948 respectively.[17] After World War II, experimentation in portraying Beethoven increased even further, exemplified by Klaus Kammerichs's [de] three-dimensonal reproduction (1986) of Joseph Karl Stieler's painted portrait and Markus Lüpertz's controversial abstract portrayal (2014).[18][19]

There is a large collection of busts in the Beethoven House, a museum and cultural institution based in Bonn that studies Beethoven's life and legacy, including ones by an unknown artist based on a sculpture by Josef Danhauser (c. 1890);[20] Fernando Cian (first quarter of the 20th century);[21] Pierre Félix Masseau (1902);[22] Aronson (1905);[15] a mask supposedly by Wilhelm Hüsgen [de] (1920–1927);[23] Eduard Merz (1945/46);[24] Lewon Konstantinowitsch Lasarew [de] (1981);[25] and Cantemir Riscutia (1998).[26]

Sculptures

Sculptures of Ludwig van Beethoven

Image	Type	Location	Date[lower-alpha 1]	Sculptor	Ref(s)
	Bust	Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, Austria	1812	Franz Klein	[2]
External image Anton Dietrich's Bust, on the Google Arts & Culture website	Bust	La Scala Milan, Italy	First half of the 19th century	Anton Dietrich	[27]
	Statue	Münsterplatz [de] Bonn, Germany	12 August 1845	Ernst Julius Hähnel	[3][5][28]
	Relief	Liceu Barcelona, Spain	March 1847	Agapit Vallmitjana i Barbany	[29]
External image Dorcière's relief, on the Statues – Hither & Thither website	Relief	Conservatoire de Musique de Genève Geneva, Switzerland	1856–58	Louis Dorcière	[30]
	Bust	Beethovengang, Heiligenstadt Vienna, Austria	15/23 June 1863	Anton Dominik Fernkorn	[31]
	Bust	Walhalla Donaustauf, Germany	1866	Arnold Hermann Lossow after Anton Dietrich	[32]
External image Schaller's bust, on the Royal Society of Musicians of Great Britain's website	Bust	Royal Philharmonic Society London, United Kingdom	1871	Johann Nepomuk Schaller	[33][34]
	Relief	Frieze of Parnassus Albert Memorial London, United Kingdom	1872	Henry Hugh Armstead	[35]
	Statue	Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, Belgium	1874	Jacques de Braekeleer [nl]	[36][37]
	Other sculpture	Galleria d'Arte Moderna Milan, Italy	1874	Giuseppe Grandi	[38]
External image Giuseppe Grandi's sculpture, on the Google Arts & Culture website	Other sculpture	Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea Turin, Italy	1874	Giuseppe Grandi	[39]
External image Bust by Bertheauld, on the Statues – Hither & Thither website	Bust	Grand Théâtre de Genève Geneva, Switzerland	1879	Bertheauld?	[40]
	Statue	Beethovenplatz [de] Vienna, Austria	1 May 1880	Kaspar von Zumbusch	[9]
External image Relief on the Alte Oper, on the Statues – Hither & Thither website	Relief	Alte Oper Frankfurt, Germany	1880	Unknown	[41]
	Bust	Central Park New York, New York, US	22 July 1884	Henry Baerer	[42][43][44]
External image Ferdinand Freiherr von Miller's bust, on the Tower Grove Park website	Bust	Tower Grove Park St. Louis, Missouri, US	1884	Ferdinand Freiherr von Miller	[45]
External image Johannes French's bust, on the Statues – Hither & Thither website	Bust	Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Netherlands	1888	Johannes French	[46]
	Bust	Beethoven House Bonn, Germany	c. 1890	Unknown (based on a sculpture by Josef Danhauser)	[20]
	Bust	Library of Congress Washington, D.C., US	1892	Hugo Hagen	[47]
	Bust	Prospect Park New York, New York, US	20 October 1894	Henry Baerer	[48]
	Statue	Naples, Italy	1895	Francesco Jerace	[49]
	Statue	Library of Congress Washington, D.C., US	c. 1895	Theodore Baur	[6]
	Bust	?[lower-alpha 2] Last seen in Lincoln Park Chicago, Illinois, US	1897	Johannes Gelert	[50]
	Relief	Helenental [de] Baden bei Wien, Austria	1899	Josef Valentin Kassin [de]	[51]
External image Thomas Crawford's statue, on the Digital Commonwealth Massachusetts Collections Online	Statue	New England Conservatory of Music Boston, Massachusetts, US	1900	Thomas Crawford	[52]
	Bust	Garden of the Beethoven House Bonn, Germany	First quarter of the 20th century	Fernando Cian[lower-alpha 3]	[21]
	Bust	Garden of the Beethoven House Bonn, Germany	1902	Pierre Félix Masseau	[22]
	Statue	Museum der bildenden Künste Leipzig, Germany	1902	Max Klinger	[12][53][54]
External image Sculpture by an unknown artist, on the Statues – Hither & Thither website	Relief (architectural)	Burschenschaftsdenkmal [de] Eisenach, Germany	1902	Unknown	[55]
	Other sculpture	Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Massachusetts, US	After 1902	Max Klinger	[56]
	Other sculpture	Tiergarten Berlin, Germany	1904	Rudolf and Wolfgang Siemering	[57]
	Bust	Garden of the Beethoven House Bonn, Germany	1905	Naoum Aronson	[15]
	Other sculpture	Museum der bildenden Künste Leipzig, Germany	1907	Max Klinger	[58]
	Statue	Aston Webb Building, University of Birmingham Birmingham, United Kingdom	1907	Henry Alfred Pegram	[59]
	Statue	Heiligenstädter Park [de] Döbling, Vienna, Austria	1910	Robert Weigl	[14][60]
	Bust	Golden Gate Park San Francisco, California, US	6 August 1915	Henry Baerer	[61]
	Bust	Parque de la Independencia Rosario, Argentina	1917	Erminio Blotta	[62]
	Mask	Garden of the Beethoven House Bonn, Germany	1920–1927	Wilhelm Hüsgen? [de][lower-alpha 4]	[23]
	Statue	Alameda Central Mexico City, Mexico	1921	Theodor von Gosen	[16]
	Relief	Ungargasse 5 Vienna, Austria	7 May 1924	Anton Grath [de]	[63]
	Relief	Malá Strana Prague, Czech Republic	March 1927	Otakar Španiel	[64]
	Bust	Sauerhof [de] Baden bei Wien, Austria	10 May 1927	Hans Mauer [de]	[65]
	Bust	Martonvásár, Hungary	1927	Jànos Pàsztor	[66]
	Statue	Nuremberg, Germany	1927	Konrad Roth	[67]
	Statue	Monument to Ludwig van Beethoven [cs] Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic	29 September 1929	Hugo Uher [cs]	[68]
	Statue	Budapest, Hungary	1932	János Horvay	[69][70]
	Statue	Pershing Square Los Angeles, California, US	14 October 1932[lower-alpha 5]	Unknown	[71]
	Relief	Rostock, Germany	1934	Paul Wallat	[72]
	Statue [de]	Alter Zoll [de] Bonn, Germany	1938	Peter Breuer	[73]
	Other sculpture	Plaza Lavalle [es] Buenos Aires, Argentina	15 November 1944	José Fioravanti	[74]
	Bust	Garden of the Beethoven House Bonn, Germany	1945/46	Eduard Merz	[24]
	Statue(s)	Frankfurt, Germany	1948	Georg Kolbe	[75]
	Bust	Redoute, Bad Godesberg Bonn, Germany	1955	Franz Rotter	[76]
	Other sculpture	Doblhoff Park Baden bei Wien, Austria	1969	Matija Vuković	[77]
	Bust	Graz Opera Graz, Austria	1969	Fred Pirker	[78]
	Relief	Hegyvidék (District XII) Budapest, Hungary	1970	László Csontos	[79]
	Other sculpture	Hlohovec, Slovakia	c. 1970	Unknown	[80]
	Statue	Jan Kochanowski Park Bydgoszcz, Poland	1970s	Witold Marciniak	[77]
	Statue	Siolim Goa, India	1 May 1976	Cypriano Fernandes	[81]
	Bust	Parque de Berlín Madrid, Spain	1981	Unknown	[82]
	Bust	Garden of the Beethoven House Bonn, Germany	1981	Levon Lazarev [de]	[25]
	Other sculpture	Beethovenhalle Bonn, Germany	1986	Klaus Kammerichs [de] after Joseph Karl Stieler	[18]
	Statue	Naruto, Tokushima, Japan	1997	Peter Kuschel [de]	[83]
	Bust	Garden of the Beethoven House Bonn, Germany	1998	Cantemir Riscutia	[26]
External image Yuan Xikun's bust, on the Google Arts & Culture website	Bust	Jintai Art Museum Beijing, China	2004	Yuan Xikun	[84]
External image Burkhard Mohr's bust, on the Statues – Hither & Thither website	Bust	Bad Godesberg Bonn, Germany	before 2008	Burkhard Mohr [de]	[85]
	Other sculpture	Stadtgarten [de] Bonn, Germany	30 March 2014	Markus Lüpertz	[19][86]
	Statue(s)	Martonvásár, Hungary	31 December 2014	Nagy János	[87]

Bourdelle's sculptures

The French sculptor Antoine Bourdelle (1861–1929) greatly admired Beethoven, of whom he created at least 45 sculptures from 1893 to the end of his life.[88][89][lower-alpha 6]

Sculptures by Antoine Bourdelle

Image	Type	Location	Date	Ref(s)
External image Antoine Bourdelle's study, on the Smithsonian Institution website	Bust (a study)	Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Washington, D.C., US	1889	[90]
	Bust	Cleveland Museum of Art Cleveland, Ohio, US	1891	[91]
	Bust	Musée Ingres Montauban, France	1891	[92][93]
External image Antoine Bourdelle's mask, on the List Visual Arts Center website	Mask	List Visual Arts Center Cambridge, Massachusetts, US	1901	[94]
	Bust	Musée Ingres Montauban, France	1901–1902	[95][96]
	Bust	Beethovenhalle Bonn, Germany	1902	[97]
External image Antoine Bourdelle's bust, on Google Arts & Culture	Bust	Beethoven House Bonn, Germany	1902	[98]
	Bust	Strasbourg Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Strasbourg, France	1903	[99]
	Bust	Musée d'Orsay Paris, France	1903	[100]
External image Antoine Bourdelle's statue, on the Courtauld Institute of Art's website	Statue	Musée Bourdelle Paris, France	1904–1908	[101]
External image Antoine Bourdelle's bust, on the Metropolitan Museum of Art's website	Bust	Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, New York, US	c. 1926 [1902]	[102]
External image Antoine Bourdelle's statue, on a website dedicated to Beethoven	Bust	Montevideo, Uruguay	25 December 1927	[103]
	Other sculpture	Musée Ingres Montauban, France	1927–1928	[104]
External image Antoine Bourdelle's statue, on the Princeton University Art Museum website	Statue	Princeton University Art Museum Princeton, New Jersey, US	1929	[105]
	Bust	Jardin du Luxembourg Paris, France	1978 [1902]	[106]
External image Antoine Bourdelle's bust, on the Ohara Museum of Art website	Bust	Ohara Museum of Art Kurashiki, Japan	Undated	[107]

Unexecuted sculptures

Unexecuted sculptures

Sketch	Date	Sculptor	Ref(s)
	c. 1840	Gustav Blaeser	[8]
	1840s	Friedrich von Amerling	[3]
	c. 1840–1845	Friedrich Drake	[7]
	c. 1890	Emil Eugen Sachse	[8]
	1903	Fidus	[13]
	1926	Ernst Barlach	[17][108]

See also

• Beethoven Frieze – 1901 painting by Gustav Klimt
• Beethoven (Mähler) – Two portraits of Beethoven by Joseph Willibrord Mähler

Notes

References

General

• Comini, Alessandra (2008). The Changing Image of Beethoven: A Study in Mythmaking. Santa Fe, New Mexico: Sunstone Press. ISBN 978-0-86534-661-1.

Specific

External links

• A slideshow of depictions of Beethoven from the Deutsches Historisches Museum on Google Arts & Culture