Lot Essay
Genre painting above all flourished in the Biedemeier period and portraiture also came to play an essential role in its development: portraits illustrate the changing tastes of this period in Austrian history. In its general progression, there is a move from the highly stylized and idealized imagery of the late-Baroque period towards a more realistic representation by the 18th Century, favoured by the burgeoning upper-middle classes (K. A. Schröder, Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller, Munich, 1990, pp. 10-11).
The present work is an exceptional example of this shift in taste and, more importantly, one of only a handful of known portraits to be executed in the composer's lifetime.
Beethoven lived in Vienna for over twenty years and 1823, the year the present work was executed, was a time of intense activity for him, during which he reached a high point in his career. In April he completed the Diabelli Variations (op. 120) and was also working on his ambitiuous Mass in D (Missa Solemnis). Its completion was originally intended for 1820 to commemorate the solemnization of Rudolph of Austria's appointment as Cardinal and Archbishop of Olmuetz. Rudolph, a great friend and patron was, however, finally presented with the Mass in March 1823. The composer regarded this piece as one of his greatest achievements, the result of three years of hard labour, and much of that year was taken up with complicated negotiations for its publication. Beethoven had made the mistake of offering manuscript copies of the Mass to the crowned heads of Europe on a subscription basis, which necessitated irksome correspondence with the various courts and also careful scrutiny of the hand-written scores. Nonetheless, the period of this portrait must be remembered as the year in which the main work on the Ninth Symphony, perhaps Beethoven's most renowned composition, was completed.
Schindler, in his Beethoven biography of 1840, records the occasion of Beethoven's sitting for the artist as follows: 'Waldmüller arrived and was extremely courteous and deferential, if somewhat too timid, and as he began to work on the outline of the head and the background, the ill-tempered Beethoven became more impatient with every passing minute, fuming and foaming around the room, evidently still preoccupied with a composition, and continuously returning to his writing table in the adjoining room - sadly for the artist' (cited in the sale catalogue, Hans Schneider Musikantiquariat, Tutzing, 1968, p. 11, no. 10). Apparently, Beethoven had been deeply annoyed from the start because Waldmüller had placed him facing the window with the light directly in his eyes. As a result, the sitting ended with a violent fit of rage from Beethoven, and Waldmüller never succeeded in obtaining a second sitting. It is precisely this which gives the portrait a spontaneous, rough-hewn appearance, quite unlike many of the detailed and finished portraits typical of this period, revealing the dynamic, if somewhat volatile personality of its sitter.
Dr. Feuchtmüller, who is currently preparing a revised catalogue raisonné on the artist, has stated in the catalogue of the exhibition, Eine Brüsseler Beethoven-Sammlung (R. Feuchtmüller op. cit., p. 6) that 'The Brussels picture is without doubt the primary version to have been executed, the reverse is not possible'. Previous literature has suggested otherwise and it was originally believed that three versions existed (op. cit.).
The present work, however, is the primary version which Waldmüller used as the basis for a second commission by the firm of Breitkopf & Härtel in 1823. The second version was destroyed in 1943 and the present work remains the only known version. Dr. Feuchtmüller explains that 'the critical examination [of the picture], supported by numerous analyses of other early works by Waldmüller, confirms Worgull's beliefs: [that] the picture is undoubtedly a study from life which is incontravertibly by Waldmüller. Other features which might suggest otherwise, namely the spontaneously applied colours which are too strong, quite unlike the more refined painting of this period, the hasty depiction of the hair and the manner in which the clothing has been painted, obviously added after the sitting, bear witness to the fact that this was constantly disrupted and, as we know, that no second sitting followed. Yet it is precisely this preliminary work, as well as the brushstrokes and delicately defined shades of grey around the mouth and chin, which attest to the execution by Waldmüller' (Feuchtmüller, op. cit, p. 5).
To be included in Dr. Feuchtmüller's forthcoming catalogue raisonné on Waldmüller.
The present work is an exceptional example of this shift in taste and, more importantly, one of only a handful of known portraits to be executed in the composer's lifetime.
Beethoven lived in Vienna for over twenty years and 1823, the year the present work was executed, was a time of intense activity for him, during which he reached a high point in his career. In April he completed the Diabelli Variations (op. 120) and was also working on his ambitiuous Mass in D (Missa Solemnis). Its completion was originally intended for 1820 to commemorate the solemnization of Rudolph of Austria's appointment as Cardinal and Archbishop of Olmuetz. Rudolph, a great friend and patron was, however, finally presented with the Mass in March 1823. The composer regarded this piece as one of his greatest achievements, the result of three years of hard labour, and much of that year was taken up with complicated negotiations for its publication. Beethoven had made the mistake of offering manuscript copies of the Mass to the crowned heads of Europe on a subscription basis, which necessitated irksome correspondence with the various courts and also careful scrutiny of the hand-written scores. Nonetheless, the period of this portrait must be remembered as the year in which the main work on the Ninth Symphony, perhaps Beethoven's most renowned composition, was completed.
Schindler, in his Beethoven biography of 1840, records the occasion of Beethoven's sitting for the artist as follows: 'Waldmüller arrived and was extremely courteous and deferential, if somewhat too timid, and as he began to work on the outline of the head and the background, the ill-tempered Beethoven became more impatient with every passing minute, fuming and foaming around the room, evidently still preoccupied with a composition, and continuously returning to his writing table in the adjoining room - sadly for the artist' (cited in the sale catalogue, Hans Schneider Musikantiquariat, Tutzing, 1968, p. 11, no. 10). Apparently, Beethoven had been deeply annoyed from the start because Waldmüller had placed him facing the window with the light directly in his eyes. As a result, the sitting ended with a violent fit of rage from Beethoven, and Waldmüller never succeeded in obtaining a second sitting. It is precisely this which gives the portrait a spontaneous, rough-hewn appearance, quite unlike many of the detailed and finished portraits typical of this period, revealing the dynamic, if somewhat volatile personality of its sitter.
Dr. Feuchtmüller, who is currently preparing a revised catalogue raisonné on the artist, has stated in the catalogue of the exhibition, Eine Brüsseler Beethoven-Sammlung (R. Feuchtmüller op. cit., p. 6) that 'The Brussels picture is without doubt the primary version to have been executed, the reverse is not possible'. Previous literature has suggested otherwise and it was originally believed that three versions existed (op. cit.).
The present work, however, is the primary version which Waldmüller used as the basis for a second commission by the firm of Breitkopf & Härtel in 1823. The second version was destroyed in 1943 and the present work remains the only known version. Dr. Feuchtmüller explains that 'the critical examination [of the picture], supported by numerous analyses of other early works by Waldmüller, confirms Worgull's beliefs: [that] the picture is undoubtedly a study from life which is incontravertibly by Waldmüller. Other features which might suggest otherwise, namely the spontaneously applied colours which are too strong, quite unlike the more refined painting of this period, the hasty depiction of the hair and the manner in which the clothing has been painted, obviously added after the sitting, bear witness to the fact that this was constantly disrupted and, as we know, that no second sitting followed. Yet it is precisely this preliminary work, as well as the brushstrokes and delicately defined shades of grey around the mouth and chin, which attest to the execution by Waldmüller' (Feuchtmüller, op. cit, p. 5).
To be included in Dr. Feuchtmüller's forthcoming catalogue raisonné on Waldmüller.