LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN AT THE AGE OF SIXTEEN (1786) Silhouette by Neesen The earliest known portrait of the young musician. Fischer describes him in his diary at that time: "short, squat, broad shoulders, short neck, big head, round nose, dark brown complexion, always walking slightly bent over. At home they called the boy 'der Spagnol' . . ."
COUNTESS ANNA HORTENSIA VON HATZFELDT Oil painting The Countess was a facile pianist, trained in singing and in playing the piano by the best Viennese teachers. Influential and enthusiastic, she sponsored musicians, and particularly young Beethoven. ( Prince von Hatzfeldt, Trachenberg)
COUNTESS FÉLISE WOLFF-METTERNICH Oil painting by Beckenkamp One of the eminent personalities of the court at Bonn. She took an interest in Beethoven, who dedicated his √ Variations pour le clavecin sur une Marche de Dressler ∛ to her (see page 42). ( Count Wolff-Metternich, Castle Gracht)
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FRANZ GERHARD WEGELER (1765-1848) Silhouette by Neesen Though five years older than Ludwig van Beethoven, Wegeler became one of the best friends of the composer. Professor of medicine and Dean of Bonn University, he, in order to escape from the French Revolution in 1794, fled to Beethoven in Vienna. ( Wegeler Archive, Koblenz)
CARL AUGUST BARON VON MALCHUS (1770-1840) Oil painting by Schlaberg Born in 1770, like Beethoven, Malchus belonged to the circle of intimate friends of the composer. In 1813 he became Secretary of the Interior of Jérôme Napoléon, King of Westphalia. (Private Collection, Wiesbaden)
ANTON REICHA (1770-1836) Engraving by M. F. Dien after Cunis Born in the same year as Beethoven, Reicha was his colleague as a flautist in the Archbishop's orchestra at Bonn and was a faithful friend to young Ludwig. They were to meet again in Vienna. (Conservatory of Music, Paris)
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MARIA ANNA WILHELMINE BARONESS VON WESTERHOLT Oil painting Three years younger than Beethoven, she met him at the home of Frau von Breuning. She became a pupil of the young master and one of his first and passionate romances. Later she married Baron von Beverförde-Werries. ( Baron von Beverförde-Werries, Castle Loburg)
BEETHOVEN LETTER TO BARONESS VON WESTERHOLT This note to his friend very likely was written when he had just fallen in love, apparently in 1790. (Beethovenhaus, Bonn)
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THE TWIN BROTHERS GERHARD (1772-1820) AND CARL (1772-1832) VON KÜGELGEN Oil portrait by G. v. Kügelgen The two painter brothers, one a portraitist, the other a landscape painter, became friends of Beethoven. They had made his acquaintance at the home of Frau von Breuning. It should be remembered that the so-called Beethoven portrait by Kügelgen is apocryphal in spite of the sensation it created when discovered at the end of the 19th century. (Private Collection)
BABETTE KOCH, WIFE OF COUNT BELDERBUSCH (1771-1807) Oil painting Babette Koch's mother owned the renowned restaurant "Der Zehrgarten" at the market square of Bonn. Babette was an intimate friend of Eleonore von Breuning. She was married to Count Anton von Belderbusch and died at the age of 36. ( Baron von Boeselager, Heimerzheim)
THE BONN MARKET SQUARE Engraving by Hundeshagen Center background is the Bonn Town Hall. At the right, on the other side of the street, was the restaurant "Der Zehrgarten," managed by Babette Koch's mother. It was a meeting place not only of artists, but of society as well. Here young Beethoven frequently met a group of refined people. His friend Wegeler later wrote that to Beethoven Babette Koch was a woman "nearest to perfection." ( Municipal Archive, Bonn)
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