Beethoven als Kind in einer Dachkammer sitzend - Lithographie von Gérard, wohl nach einer eigenen Zeichnung, Brüssel, 1837

While particular scenes of Beethoven's life had been depicted again and again, there are several scenes, which had not been created very often by fine artists. Among those are above all scenes of the composer's childhood and youth.

The lithograph from the magazine "Petit Courier des Enfants" shown here, is one of the few examples of the 19th century, which shows Beethoven as a child. It shows the composer as a young boy in a room that shows poverty. The attic window proves that this room is an attic. Beethoven is sitting in front of a piano, holding a violin in his hand. There is no other furniture in this room - or any pieces of accoutrement. The painter must have consciously associated the image of Beethoven's youth with the romantic motive of a poor poet in the attic. This corresponds to the ideas of the 19th century, of how someone becomes a genius.(S.B.)