Beethoven beim Spaziergang in Rückansicht - Aquarellierte Zeichnung von Joseph Weidner, 1823

In 1916 this watercoloured pencil drawing was auctioned off at the Berlin auctioning house Henrici. The picture was drawn by Joseph Weidner (1801-1870), an artist from Vienna, who was a renowned portrait and genre painter in the early 19th century. Among other works, Weidner drew a portrait of Ludwig van Beethoven for which Beethoven acted as a model for the painter.

The painter probably observed Beethoven several times when this picture was drawn. It is possible that he made the drawing on a walk and later coloured it in his studio. Although the sheet does not bear any inscription or label, many details suggest that the person depicted is indeed Beethoven, such as the person's figure or the way in which he wears his hat and how the hair can be seen under the hat's brim. These details are perfectly in accordance with descriptions of Beethoven's looks in the 1820s, given by various friends and contemporaries of the composer.(S.B.)