Dimensions with marble support base: 40x40x14 cm.

The face portrayed in the present mask is identifiable with that of the famous composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), a true example of romantic artist and incarnation of the absolute 'genius' whose myth had an important following and influence on the art of the second 19th century and early 20th century. The peak of this 'veneration' was reached in 1902 (75th anniversary of his death) with the exhibition of the Vienna Secession, which was dedicated to the great composer of Bonn, an occasion on which, among others, Gustav Klimt painted the famous "Beethoven Frieze".
The present portrait represents a variant on the model of the mask taken 'in life' by Franz Klein, in 1812, from the composer's face: the somatic features, the inclination of the lips, the dimple of the chin faithfully reproduce this version, to which are here added the hair and the detail of the empty eye sockets. With the exception of this last element, it is possible to compare our mask to the patinated plaster relief, depicting the same subject, by Franz Von Stuck (circa 1900), a version of which is preserved at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris (inv . n°68183), with which the present sculpture shares many details and the general layout of the face. The element of the empty eye sockets, which instead refers to the experience of Adolfo Wildt, further strengthens the idea of the 'mask' in an almost theatrical sense, simultaneously accentuating the more strictly symbolist and enigmatic elements emanating from the legendary face of Ludwig van Beethoven, which thus rises to the role of modern 'idol', above time and history.