Music continued to inspire his art for decades. In 1898, he painted the "Death of Mimì" ("illustrated below") (Museum of the City, New York), for which Balestrieri painted himself as Rodolfo. In 1899, he painted a canvas depicting "Beethoven (Kreutzer Sonata)", This painting, which was awarded a prize at the 1900 Universal Exposition in Paris and in 1901 in Venice, brought him fame. The painting depicts a dimly lit garret-like apartment with a strand of listeners along the left wall, each in their own mood, while a violinist plays between them and a furnace. The face of the musician is hidden, and the wall has the empty gaze of a plaster mask of Beethoven. Numerous reproductions were made and sold of the painting.