Beethoven is a work of art by Andy Warhol, which exists as a unique piece on canvas but also as an original screen print. The graphic has an edition of 60 copies. Andy Warhol has made famous personalities such as Beethoven or Goethe as well as pop stars immortal through his art. For his famous portraits of Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley or Mao, Warhol usually used existing images from the press and advertising and processed these found images into works of enormous iconic presence. Often he created several identical images that differ only in their different color schemes. His works have now in turn found their way into the media world from which their originals came and are reproduced over and over again in the most diverse contexts. Goethe is now one of the most popular motifs among collectors, along with Marilyn Monroe.

The motif Beethoven is one of the outstanding portraits of Andy Warhol, which was created shortly before his death. The portrait was commissioned by the art dealer Hermann Wünsche on the occasion of the 2000th anniversary of the then German capital Bonn. The Beethoven portrait by artist Joseph Karl Stieler from 1820 served as a model for the artwork, which Warhol masterfully combined with the score of the “Moonlight Sonata.”

The artist’s ability to manipulate and appropriate images to create visual icons is demonstrated in this print in a special way.

Warhol skillfully highlights the composer’s impatient facial expression, lion’s mane, and hands in his interpretation by emphasizing them with color. The upper body more or less merges with the background. However, Warhol takes the visual identification of the composer one step further. Not content to use Beethoven’s tools of the trade, the manuscript and pen, to indicate the composer’s talent, he runs the musical notes directly over the portrait itself. In Joseph Karl Stieler’s painting, Beethoven is holding the score of his “Missa solemnis.” The mass is one of his greatest works. Warhol, however, chooses the score of his Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor – better known as the Moonlight Sonata – for his portrait. By using the more popular Moonlight Sonata, Warhol proves once again that he does not want to create a likeness, but a cliché of reality that makes the person into legends.

Literature:
– Feldman, Frayda/Schellmann, Jörg: Andy Warhol Prints – A Catalogue Raisonné 1962-1987, Milan 2003, WVZ.-Nr. IIB.390-393.