Ludwig van Beethoven - Lithographie von I.G. Fritzsche nach einem Gemälde von Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller aus dem Jahr 1823, Leipzig, Mitte 19. Jahrhundert

In 1823, Ferdinand Waldmüller was commissioned by the Leipzig publishers Breitkopf & Härtel to portrait Ludwig van Beethoven. As several letter and notes from Beethoven's conversation books prove, the composer really sat for the painter once. However, the sitting was interrupted ahead of schedule, and could not be continued later on. It can therefore be assumed that Waldmüller only portrayed Beethoven's face, but added his clothes and probably also parts of his hair retrospectively.

Waldmüller's painting had originally been preserved in two versions: the first version was a rather casually painted version, which can probably be interpreted of being the first study; and it had been painted also in a second, more elaborated version. The second one was in the possession of the Leipzig publishing house Breitkopf and it was burned in 1943. It is handed down in reproductions only. The "natural study" however, has been preserved. It probably remained in Waldmüller's possession at first. Later on, Friedrich von Kistner bought the painting, but today, it belongs to the collections of the Vienna Museum of Art History.

Waldmüller's portrait of Beethoven was quite popular during the 19th and the early 20th century. It was often reproduced and copied. A copy by the painter Willy Faßbender from Bonn is displayed in the Beethoven-Haus Bonn. This copy was created after the destroyed Leipzig painting.(S.B.)