Ludwig van Beethoven, Kopf, durchdruckt mit den Noten des Beginns der Mondscheinsonate in Rot und Blau - Graphik von Thomas Bayrle, 1971, Kunstpostkarte

Thomas Bayrle, a painter and graphic artist who worked in Frankfurt, created one of the most popular depictions of Beethoven of the second half of the 20th century. It reverts to the drawing which August von Kloeber created in 1818 and which had been especially popular.

Bayrle revised Kloeber"s Beethoven portrait by reducing and stylizing each form and filling them with differently colored notes. Those notes are taken from Beethoven"s Piano Sonata in C sharp Minor, op. 27 No. 2, the so-called "Moonlight Sonata".

In that respect, the graphic depicts very well, how close and almost in an inextricable way, Beethoven"s character is affiliated with the music in the consciousness of the modern listener. At the same time, it reveals how difficult it is today to listen to Beethoven"s music without noticing romantic associations or to see the personality of the composer detached from the myths which were created about his person later on. (S.B.)