Ludwig van Beethoven. Marble sculpture by Lina Arpesani, possibly after a variant of the life mask by Franz Klein, 1923

Ludwig van Beethoven

Marble sculpture by Lina Arpesani (1888-1974), possibly after a variant of the life mask by Franz Klein

signed and dated "ARPESANI - MCMXXIII"

partially painted white marble, affixed to a grey marble back

30.5 x 30.5 x 18cm (12 x 12 x 7 1/8 in.)

An imposing representation of the composer's face by the Milan sculptor Lina Arpesani, which we understand was modelled not on the original 1812 life mask by the Austrian sculptor Franz Klein (1779-1840), but on a later (mid-) nineteenth-century variant. This variant, in which the composer's eyelashes are also suggested, was apparently very popular in the first half of the twentieth century and served as the model for a number of later re-creations.