Beethovens Hände - Ölstudie von Josef Danhauser, Wien, 1827

Amongst the Beethoven files in the Vienna City and Regional Archives there is a "Receipt for expenses for the burial of the famous composer, the late Ludwig von Beethoven's burial in Convencions Müntze (the coins used at the time)", which provides detailed insights into the lying in state of the dead man's body in his apartment. The list of necessary utensils includes a large wax cross as well as "a lily in his hand". On account of these details supported by information on burial customs in Vienna in the early nineteenth century, newer literature assumes that both of these objects - the cross and the lily - were placed in the deceased's hand for the lying in state. This motif would therefore have been incorporated into the picture shown here, in which the shaft of a cross can be seen between the folded hands of the deceased.(S.B.)