I have been reading chapters from a book called Beethoven His Life and Music by Jeremy Siepmann. In the chapter called, The Master, it shows a black and white copy of a portrait of Beethoven painted by H. Torggler.
When I first saw the painting it scared me. I felt like I could see some of Beethoven's suffering, hurt, despair, pain, the horror that he faced, etc. I thought it different than any Beethoven painting I had seen. Call me foolish, but I can't help but respect Torggler's vision of Beethoven. It does away with the image of romance that surrounds paintings such as the Steiler, and this moved me, yet, in a sad way.
Torggler paints Beethoven with a more realistic view on Beethoven and his suffering. The painting reminds me of the way Beethoven may have looked when Schindler and a friend went to see Beethoven and he was howling and screaming parts of the Missa Solemnis. Schindler said that he went on for quite sometime with this howling, stamping, and screaming. Just before Schindler and his friend were about to take their leave, Beethoven opened the door and saw them. Schindler said that Beethoven's features were so distorted that it was enough to enspark fear to one.
The rest of the story goes that Beethoven walked out and said, "pretty doings here", and that he had not had anything to eat, seeing as he had thrown the housekeeper out, since yesterday.
I guess, the reason I made this posts was initially thinking of how much Beethoven suffered, then thinking of the Torggler. I mean, this man was a deaf musician. Other than the music in his head the main thing he heard constantly was this:
BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!!!!!
I hate when my years ring for a second, I could not imagine 30 years of it, and deaf.
Then he was eccentric, which didn't help his behavior, and made it hard for him to take care of and control himself at times.
In short the suffering in life that Beethoven experienced, is enough to strike a man down to the ground in a heartbeat. I have seen to many hard times myself, but, when I think of Beethoven, it scares the hell out of me- to think that amount of suffering could happen to me or anyone else.
Yet, he wrote the most unimaginable and spiritual music ever written. A sublime being touched by the divine, I think.
Anyway, I am wondering what you all think of the Torggler painting?
When I first saw the painting it scared me. I felt like I could see some of Beethoven's suffering, hurt, despair, pain, the horror that he faced, etc. I thought it different than any Beethoven painting I had seen. Call me foolish, but I can't help but respect Torggler's vision of Beethoven. It does away with the image of romance that surrounds paintings such as the Steiler, and this moved me, yet, in a sad way.
Torggler paints Beethoven with a more realistic view on Beethoven and his suffering. The painting reminds me of the way Beethoven may have looked when Schindler and a friend went to see Beethoven and he was howling and screaming parts of the Missa Solemnis. Schindler said that he went on for quite sometime with this howling, stamping, and screaming. Just before Schindler and his friend were about to take their leave, Beethoven opened the door and saw them. Schindler said that Beethoven's features were so distorted that it was enough to enspark fear to one.
The rest of the story goes that Beethoven walked out and said, "pretty doings here", and that he had not had anything to eat, seeing as he had thrown the housekeeper out, since yesterday.
I guess, the reason I made this posts was initially thinking of how much Beethoven suffered, then thinking of the Torggler. I mean, this man was a deaf musician. Other than the music in his head the main thing he heard constantly was this:
BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!!!!!
I hate when my years ring for a second, I could not imagine 30 years of it, and deaf.
Then he was eccentric, which didn't help his behavior, and made it hard for him to take care of and control himself at times.
In short the suffering in life that Beethoven experienced, is enough to strike a man down to the ground in a heartbeat. I have seen to many hard times myself, but, when I think of Beethoven, it scares the hell out of me- to think that amount of suffering could happen to me or anyone else.
Yet, he wrote the most unimaginable and spiritual music ever written. A sublime being touched by the divine, I think.
Anyway, I am wondering what you all think of the Torggler painting?
!
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