Beethoven, Ludwig van. (1770–1827)
1812 Life Mask
A striking late 19th century bronze cast made from the life mask originally taken by the sculptor Franz Klein (1779 - after 1836) in 1812.The mask is complete and with the original shape, unlike some modern copies made with modified extended neck. Bronze, pitch-black patina, with moderate green stains and dots. Measures approximately 10” high x 7” wide x 5” deep back for secure wall mounting. Approx. 3 kg.
In 1812 the Viennese anatomical sculptor Franz Klein was commissioned by Beethoven's friend, the piano maker Johann Andreas Streicher (1761 - 1833) to produce a bust of Beethoven for his private concert hall on the Ungargasse. The forty-one-year-old Beethoven gave him permission to mold his face, but "Klein encountered some resistance from his famous subject, who was sure the wet gypsum with which his whole face had been plastered would suffocate him. The first attempt ended in failure, but the result of the second attempt is a priceless legacy. Physical comparison with the verbal portraits of Beethoven is, thanks to this uncannily accurate artifact, made possible. The squarish head is not really unusually large (as remembered by Schindler and the Bonn baker, for example); the vertical stretch from chin to hairline measures just short of eight inches (19.75 centimeters). But the forehead is large: pronounced, powerful, wide, rounded, and prominent without being really high. In profile view it bulges slightly forward above the furrowed brow. The nose is indeed flat and broadens out over the lower cartilage. A marked vertical groove- the philtrum- runs from under the nose to just above the middle of the upper lip. Seen level at full face the nostril wings flare ever so slightly, inspiring the “lion-muzzle” analogy of certain descriptions. If the life mask is picked up and observed from below, the orifices of the nostrils are seen to be of uneven circumference, with the left much smaller and a bit higher than the right. The contracted brow and drooping set of the firmly clamped lips are partially due to the uncomfortable procedure of plaster casting, but do agree with contemporary descriptions of Beethoven’s facial expression when not animated. Most striking are the scar on the right side of the nose, the deep scar on the right side of the chin, and the pronounced cleft. When one actually touches the mask this cleft can be felt to throw up a mound of flesh on either side- the “shell-like conformation” mentioned by Schindler. This strange configuration at the tip of the chin is not the result of a bony chin, but of an overdeveloped mentalis muscle that raises the chin and pushes up the lower lip. The fidelity of Klein’s life mask extends even to the reproduction of Beethoven’s skin pores and facial scars. While contemporary accounts uniformly referred to the many blemishes as smallpox scars, there are some lumpy areas around the chin and mouth, on the cheeks, and especially above the nose between the eyebrows not explained by smallpox.... Whatever the medical cause of Beethoven’s pustular facial eruptions- and a secure diagnosis is admittedly difficult- the formidable impression conveyed by Klein’s austere life mask of seriousness and intense concentration (again, due partly to the plastering discomfort) would be seized upon by all later image makers as appropriate to the Beethoven aura. But the pockmarks- hardly conducive to hero worship- would be left behind." (Alessandra Comini, "The Changing Image of Beethoven," p. 33 - 34) (9146)
Art/Sculpture Classical Music