Beethoven
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.Beethoven’s face, which was modelled after his purported death-mask, projects from the blood-red background as if it were a hallucinatory vision emerging from a painting. By challenging the boundary between the physicality of sculpture and the illusion of painting, Stuck strove to convey the otherworldly power of the human imagination. A passionate admirer of the composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827), Stuck created the portrait as part of a series of famous men that embellished his residence, the Villa Stuck, outside Munich. Later versions, like this one, were made as independent works of art.
Artwork Details
- Title: Beethoven
- Artist: Franz von Stuck (German, Tettenweis 1863–1928 Munich)
- Culture: German
- Medium: Gilt and polychromed stucco
- Dimensions: Overall: 18 3/4 × 18 × 5 in. (47.6 × 45.7 × 12.7 cm)
- Classification: Sculpture
- Credit Line: Lent by The Hearn Family Trust, 2017
- Object Number: L.2017.38
- Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts