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Secondary sourceSculpture1827 (mask); drawing 1893

Death of Ludwig van Beethoven

Theodor Kandale (after Josef Danhauser) · 1827 (mask); drawing 1893

A drawing of Beethoven's death mask, made the day after his death on 26 March 1827, showing the face marked by his final illness.

This death mask was taken from Beethoven's own body the day after he died, recording his face at the end of his life.

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Charcoal and white chalk drawing on grey paper of a death mask of a bald man with closed eyes, a furrowed brow, a large nose and a pursed mouth, seen three-quarter view against a dark background and a vertical wooden post. A cursive signature and date appear at lower right.
Theodor Kandale, drawing after Josef Danhauser's death mask of Beethoven, 1893.

About this source

What it is

Ludwig van Beethoven died in Vienna on 26 March 1827. A death mask was taken the day after his death, and this drawing by Theodor Kandale, made later and based on a Josef Danhauser work, reproduces that mask in charcoal and white chalk.

Why it matters

Beethoven's death ended one of the most influential careers in Western music. The mask and its many later copies and drawings show how quickly a public cult formed around him, with friends and strangers wanting a physical trace of his face. Accounts from witnesses, including his friend Anselm Hüttenbrenner, shaped the stories told about his final moments, though some details remain debated by historians.

Look closer

  • Why might people have wanted to preserve an exact copy of Beethoven's face after death?
  • What does the drawing's careful, realistic style suggest about how Beethoven was regarded by the public?
  • Is a drawing of a death mask the same as a portrait of a living person? What does it capture and what does it leave out?

This sculpture is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Ludwig van Beethoven on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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