# List of sculptures of Ludwig van Beethoven

The German composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) is among the most admired composers in the history of Western music, and has been the subject of many private and public sculptures, including busts, reliefs, statues and others. The first, a bust by Franz Klein, was commissioned by Johann Andreas Streicher and created in 1812, while the composer was still alive. After Beethoven's death in 1827, his hometown, Bonn, immediately began planning a monument for the following year, though a cholera outbreak delayed this. A design competition was eventually held, in which a submission by Ernst Julius Hähnel beat ones from Friedrich von Amerling, Gustav Blaeser and Friedrich Drake. In 1845, Hähnel's monument was erected, due to finances given by Robert Schumann, Charles Hallé, George Thomas Smart and especially Franz Liszt. While the monument's height and simplicity were criticized, the reliefs surrounding the base were met with public approval. The statue's representation of a figure standing on a decorated base with its legs slightly apart was popular at the time, and later inspired Theodore Baur's statue of c. 1895 in the Library of Congress.
The Beethoven monuments that followed Hähnel's, while retaining a high pedestal, began to portray the composer in a less simplistic and increasingly heroic light. The most significant representative of this, and the most famous Beethoven monument from the second half of the 19th century, was Kaspar von Zumbusch's 1880 monument in Beethovenplatz [de], Vienna. The city had intended to erect a monument for Beethoven since his death, but serious action to do so began only in the 1870s, when a competition for a design was held and Zumbusch's winning design was created with financial support from Liszt and Brahms.
In the early 20th century, the glorified portrayals of Beethoven reached their peak, with god-like representations such as Max Klinger's monument (1902), unveiled at the Vienna Secession (now in the Museum der bildenden Künste), and Fidus's unexecuted design for a 'Beethoven temple' (1903). The 20th century also saw a brief return to the simplistic style of the 19th century, such as Robert Weigl's statue at the Heiligenstädter Park [de] in Vienna (1910) and Hugo Uher's [cs] statue in Karlsbad (1929). Also at this time, Antoine Bourdelle and Naoum Aronson, both students of Auguste Rodin, began creating busts of the composer; Bourdelle was especially prolific. As the century progressed, ideas on depicting Beethoven became largely ununified, and were often especially allegorical, such as Theodor von Gosen's monument in Alameda Central, Mexico City (1921). In 1926, Berlin hosted a monument competition in preparation for the composer's 100th anniversary the following year; the entire competition was controversial and was eventually canceled due to criticism from the press and the committee's inability to form a consensus. There had been submissions from famous sculptors including Ernst Barlach, Peter Breuer and Georg Kolbe, although Breuer and Kolbe eventually had their designs constructed in 1938 and 1948 respectively. After World War II, experimentation in portraying Beethoven increased even further, exemplified by Klaus Kammerichs's [de] three-dimensional reproduction (1986) of Joseph Karl Stieler's painted portrait and Markus Lüpertz's controversial abstract portrayal (2014).
There is a large collection of busts in the Beethoven House, a museum and cultural institution based in Bonn that studies Beethoven's life and legacy, including ones by an unknown artist based on a sculpture by Josef Danhauser (c. 1890); Fernando Cian (first quarter of the 20th century); Pierre Félix Masseau (1902); Aronson (1905); a mask supposedly by Wilhelm Hüsgen [de] (1920–1927); Eduard Merz (1945/46); Lewon Konstantinowitsch Lasarew [de] (1981); and Cantemir Riscutia (1998).

## Sculptures

Sculptures of Ludwig van Beethoven :
| Image | Type | Location | Date | Sculptor |
| | Bust | Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, Austria | 1812 | Franz Klein |
| External image Anton Dietrich's Bust, on the Google Arts & Culture website | Bust | La Scala Milan, Italy | First half of the 19th century | Anton Dietrich |
| | Statue | Münsterplatz [de] Bonn, Germany | 12 August 1845 | Ernst Julius Hähnel |
| | Relief | Liceu Barcelona, Spain | March 1847 | Agapit Vallmitjana i Barbany |
| External image Dorcière's relief, on the Statues – Hither & Thither website | Relief | Conservatoire de Musique de Genève Geneva, Switzerland | 1856–58 | Louis Dorcière |
| | Bust | Beethovengang, Heiligenstadt Vienna, Austria | 15/23 June 1863 | Anton Dominik Fernkorn |
| | Bust | Walhalla Donaustauf, Germany | 1866 | Arnold Hermann Lossow after Anton Dietrich |
| External image Schaller's bust, on the Royal Society of Musicians of Great Britain's website | Bust | Royal Philharmonic Society London, United Kingdom | 1871 | Johann Nepomuk Schaller |
| | Relief | Frieze of Parnassus Albert Memorial London, United Kingdom | 1872 | Henry Hugh Armstead |
| | Statue | Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, Belgium | 1874 | Jacques de Braekeleer [nl] |
| | Other sculpture | Galleria d'Arte Moderna Milan, Italy | 1874 | Giuseppe Grandi |
| External image Giuseppe Grandi's sculpture, on the Google Arts & Culture website | Other sculpture | Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea Turin, Italy | 1874 | Giuseppe Grandi |
| External image Bust by Bertheauld, on the Statues – Hither & Thither website | Bust | Grand Théâtre de Genève Geneva, Switzerland | 1879 | Bertheauld? |
| | Statue | Beethovenplatz [de] Vienna, Austria | 1 May 1880 | Kaspar von Zumbusch |
| External image Relief on the Alte Oper, on the Statues – Hither & Thither website | Relief | Alte Oper Frankfurt, Germany | 1880 | Unknown |
| | Bust | Central Park New York, New York, US | 22 July 1884 | Henry Baerer |
| External image Ferdinand Freiherr von Miller's bust, on the Tower Grove Park website | Bust | Tower Grove Park St. Louis, Missouri, US | 1884 | Ferdinand Freiherr von Miller |
| External image Johannes French's bust, on the Statues – Hither & Thither website | Bust | Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Netherlands | 1888 | Johannes French |
| | Bust | Beethoven House Bonn, Germany | c. 1890 | Unknown (based on a sculpture by Josef Danhauser) |
| | Bust | Library of Congress Washington, D.C., US | 1892 | Hugo Hagen |
| | Bust | Prospect Park New York, New York, US | 20 October 1894 | Henry Baerer |
| | Statue | Naples, Italy | 1895 | Francesco Jerace |
| | Statue | Library of Congress Washington, D.C., US | c. 1895 | Theodore Baur |
| | Bust | ? Last seen in Lincoln Park Chicago, Illinois, US | 1897 | Johannes Gelert |
| | Relief | Helenental [de] Baden bei Wien, Austria | 1899 | Josef Valentin Kassin [de] |
| External image Thomas Crawford's statue, on the Digital Commonwealth Massachusetts Collections Online | Statue | New England Conservatory of Music Boston, Massachusetts, US | 1900 | Thomas Crawford |
| | Bust | Garden of the Beethoven House Bonn, Germany | First quarter of the 20th century | Fernando Cian |
| | Bust | Garden of the Beethoven House Bonn, Germany | 1902 | Pierre Félix Masseau |
| | Statue | Museum der bildenden Künste Leipzig, Germany | 1902 | Max Klinger |
| External image Sculpture by an unknown artist, on the Statues – Hither & Thither website | Relief (architectural) | Burschenschaftsdenkmal [de] Eisenach, Germany | 1902 | Unknown |
| | Other sculpture | Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Massachusetts, US | After 1902 | Max Klinger |
| | Other sculpture | Tiergarten Berlin, Germany | 1904 | Rudolf and Wolfgang Siemering |
| | Bust | Garden of the Beethoven House Bonn, Germany | 1905 | Naoum Aronson |
| | Other sculpture | Museum der bildenden Künste Leipzig, Germany | 1907 | Max Klinger |
| | Statue | Aston Webb Building, University of Birmingham Birmingham, United Kingdom | 1907 | Henry Alfred Pegram |
| | Statue | Heiligenstädter Park [de] Döbling, Vienna, Austria | 1910 | Robert Weigl |
| | Bust | Golden Gate Park San Francisco, California, US | 6 August 1915 | Henry Baerer |
| | Bust | Parque de la Independencia Rosario, Argentina | 1917 | Erminio Blotta |
| | Mask | Garden of the Beethoven House Bonn, Germany | 1920–1927 | Wilhelm Hüsgen? [de] |
| | Statue | Alameda Central Mexico City, Mexico | 1921 | Theodor von Gosen |
| | Relief | Ungargasse 5 Vienna, Austria | 7 May 1924 | Anton Grath [de] |
| | Relief | Malá Strana Prague, Czech Republic | March 1927 | Otakar Španiel |
| | Bust | Sauerhof [de] Baden bei Wien, Austria | 10 May 1927 | Hans Mauer [de] |
| | Bust | Martonvásár, Hungary | 1927 | Jànos Pàsztor |
| | Statue | Nuremberg, Germany | 1927 | Konrad Roth |
| | Statue | Monument to Ludwig van Beethoven [cs] Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic | 29 September 1929 | Hugo Uher [cs] |
| | Statue | Budapest, Hungary | 1932 | János Horvay |
| | Statue | Pershing Square Los Angeles, California, US | 14 October 1932 | Unknown |
| | Relief | Rostock, Germany | 1934 | Paul Wallat |
| | Statue [de] | Alter Zoll [de] Bonn, Germany | 1938 | Peter Breuer |
| | Other sculpture | Plaza Lavalle [es] Buenos Aires, Argentina | 15 November 1944 | José Fioravanti |
| | Bust | Garden of the Beethoven House Bonn, Germany | 1945/46 | Eduard Merz |
| | Statue(s) | Frankfurt, Germany | 1948 | Georg Kolbe |
| | Bust | Redoute, Bad Godesberg Bonn, Germany | 1955 | Franz Rotter |
| | Other sculpture | Doblhoff Park Baden bei Wien, Austria | 1969 | Matija Vuković |
| | Bust | Graz Opera Graz, Austria | 1969 | Fred Pirker |
| | Relief | Hegyvidék (District XII) Budapest, Hungary | 1970 | László Csontos |
| | Other sculpture | Hlohovec, Slovakia | c. 1970 | Unknown |
| | Statue | Jan Kochanowski Park Bydgoszcz, Poland | 1970s | Witold Marciniak |
| | Statue | Siolim Goa, India | 1 May 1976 | Cypriano Fernandes |
| | Bust | Parque de Berlín Madrid, Spain | 1981 | Unknown |
| | Bust | Garden of the Beethoven House Bonn, Germany | 1981 | Levon Lazarev [de] |
| | Other sculpture | Beethovenhalle Bonn, Germany | 1986 | Klaus Kammerichs [de] after Joseph Karl Stieler |
| External image Kuschel's statue, on the Naruto, Tokushima website | Statue | Naruto, Tokushima, Japan | 1997 | Peter Kuschel [de] |
| | Bust | Garden of the Beethoven House Bonn, Germany | 1998 | Cantemir Riscutia |
| | Statue | Jesús de Monasterio Park Santander, Spain | 1999 | Ramón Ruiz Lloreda |
| External image Yuan Xikun's bust, on the Google Arts & Culture website | Bust | Jintai Art Museum Beijing, China | 2004 | Yuan Xikun |
| External image Burkhard Mohr's bust, on the Statues – Hither & Thither website | Bust | Bad Godesberg Bonn, Germany | before 2008 | Burkhard Mohr [de] |
| | Other sculpture | Stadtgarten [de] Bonn, Germany | 30 March 2014 | Markus Lüpertz |
| | Statue(s) | Martonvásár, Hungary | 31 December 2014 | Nagy János |

### Bourdelle's sculptures

The French sculptor Antoine Bourdelle (1861–1929) greatly admired Beethoven, of whom he created at least 45 sculptures from 1893 to the end of his life.
Sculptures by Antoine Bourdelle :
| Image | Type | Location | Date |
| External image Antoine Bourdelle's study, on the Smithsonian Institution website | Bust (a study) | Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Washington, D.C., US | 1889 |
| | Bust | Cleveland Museum of Art Cleveland, Ohio, US | 1891 |
| | Bust | Musée Ingres Montauban, France | 1891 |
| External image Antoine Bourdelle's mask, on the List Visual Arts Center website | Mask | List Visual Arts Center Cambridge, Massachusetts, US | 1901 |
| | Bust | Musée Ingres Montauban, France | 1901–1902 |
| | Bust | Beethovenhalle Bonn, Germany | 1902 |
| External image Antoine Bourdelle's bust, on Google Arts & Culture | Bust | Beethoven House Bonn, Germany | 1902 |
| | Bust | Strasbourg Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Strasbourg, France | 1903 |
| | Bust | Musée d'Orsay Paris, France | 1903 |
| External image Antoine Bourdelle's statue, on the Courtauld Institute of Art's website | Statue | Musée Bourdelle Paris, France | 1904–1908 |
| External image Antoine Bourdelle's bust, on the Metropolitan Museum of Art's website | Bust | Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, New York, US | c. 1926 [1902] |
| External image Antoine Bourdelle's statue, on a website dedicated to Beethoven | Bust | Montevideo, Uruguay | 25 December 1927 |
| | Other sculpture | Musée Ingres Montauban, France | 1927–1928 |
| External image Antoine Bourdelle's statue, on the Princeton University Art Museum website | Statue | Princeton University Art Museum Princeton, New Jersey, US | 1929 |
| | Bust | Jardin du Luxembourg Paris, France | 1978 [1902] |
| External image Antoine Bourdelle's bust, on the Ohara Museum of Art website | Bust | Ohara Museum of Art Kurashiki, Japan | Undated |

## Unexecuted sculptures

Unexecuted sculptures :
| Date | Sculptor |
| c. 1840 | Gustav Blaeser |
| 1840s | Friedrich von Amerling |
| c. 1840–1845 | Friedrich Drake |
| c. 1890 | Emil Eugen Sachse |
| 1903 | Fidus |
| 1926 | Ernst Barlach |