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Primary sourcePainting1746

Portrait of Bach

Elias Gottlob Haussmann · 1746

An oil portrait of Johann Sebastian Bach painted in 1746, one of only two authenticated likenesses made during his lifetime.

This is one of only two authenticated portraits made of Bach during his own lifetime.

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Oil portrait of a man in a white powdered wig and dark coat with gold buttons, white cravat and cuffs. He holds a sheet of handwritten music with the inscription 'Canon triplex a 6 voci' and the signature 'J. S. Bach'.
Elias Gottlob Haussmann, Portrait of Johann Sebastian Bach, 1746. Museum of City History Leipzig.

About this source

What it is

This oil portrait of Johann Sebastian Bach was painted in 1746 by Elias Gottlob Haussmann. It is held today by the Museum of City History Leipzig and shows Bach holding a handwritten sheet of music, a riddle canon known as the 'Canon triplex.'

Why it matters

This is one of only two portraits of Bach confirmed to have been painted while he was alive, making it an especially trusted image of his appearance. The musical puzzle he holds reflects his reputation as a composer who delighted in complex, intellectual musical games.

Look closer

  • What does Bach's clothing and pose suggest about his social status?
  • Why do you think the artist included the musical canon in Bach's hands rather than painting him with no object?
  • What might this portrait not tell us about what Bach was really like as a person?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Johann Sebastian Bach on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Primary source

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Johann Sebastian Bach · 1722 (Book 1); 1742 (Book 2)

Page 158 of Mizler's Musikalische Bibliothek, 1754, in Fraktur black-letter type. Header reads 'VI. Denkmal dreyer verst. Mitglieder'. Section 'C.' begins with a heading about Johann Sebastian Bach, followed by a body of German text.Newspaper article

Secondary source

Bach's Nekrolog

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