Beethoven Monument (Vienna)

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Beethoven monument on Beethovenplatz

The Beethoven monument on Beethovenplatz in the Austrian capital Vienna is a bronze statue from 1880. It is dedicated to the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven who worked in Vienna and was realized by the sculptor Caspar von Zumbusch .

history

The Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde set up a committee chaired by Nikolaus Dumba on February 7, 1871, regarding the erection of a Beethoven monument . This committee announced a competition on May 5, 1873 and invited the sculptors Carl Kundmann , Anton Paul Wagner , Johannes Benk and Caspar von Zumbusch. On February 18, 1874, the jury evaluated the submitted designs and declared Zumbusch the winner. After making changes, the shape of the monument was approved on March 4, 1875. In 1878 the cast model of the monument, which is now in the foyer of the Wiener Konzerthaus , was presented at the Paris World Exhibition and was awarded a gold medal. The ceremonial unveiling of the monument took place on May 1, 1880.

At first the monument stood with its front in the direction of Palais Gutmann or inner city. In the course of the vaulting of the Wien River at the end of the 1890s, the monument in the middle of the square was turned 180 degrees in the direction of the now more important Lothringerstrasse, which was used by tram lines from 1902 to 1980. When an underground car park for the Girozentrale was built under the square at the end of the 1960s, the monument was temporarily placed in the city park. In 1971 the back of the monument was re-clad.

description

The monument shows Beethoven seated in a strictly historical style on a square plinth above a multi-tiered, laterally rounded pedestal, which was created by the master stonemason Eduard Hauser . At his feet the bound Prometheus (left) and Victoria with a raised laurel wreath (right) as well as nine putti making music as allegories to his 9 symphonies . The inscription "LUDWIG / VAN / BEETHOVEN" is on the front of the base and "ERRICHTET / MDCCCLXXX" on the back. The bronze figures were cast by the ore caster Carl Turbain the Elder .

The cost of the monument was 46,000 guilders , with the Monument Committee raising 40,000 and the City Expansion Fund granting a grant of 6,000. The city expansion fund paid a further 3,000 guilders for the redesign of the surrounding green area.

  • Beethoven

  • Victoria

  • Prometheus

  • Putt

literature

  • Eduard Hanslick , Leopold Alexander Zellner: On the unveiling of the Beethoven monument in Vienna on May 1, 1880. Vienna 1880
  • The Beethoven Monument in Vienna. In: Die Heimat, 5 (1880), p. 496
  • The competition drafts for the Beethoven monument in Vienna: In: Presse, February 5, 1874, supplement
  • Carl von Lützow : The Beethoven monument in Vienna. In: Zeitschrift für bildende Kunst 15 (1880), p. 251
  • Kunstchronik 9 (1874), column 313 ff.
  • Hans-Ernst Mittig : The Vienna Beethoven monument by Zumbusch and the turning point in the representation of Beethoven. In: Old and Modern Art 14. Austrian magazine for art, handicrafts and home decor. Innsbruck / Salzburg: AMK-Verlag / Vienna: Österreichischer Bundesverlag 1969, No. 104, p. 25 ff.

Web links

Commons : Beethoven Monument  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Beethoven Monument (1) in the Vienna History Wiki of the City of Vienna
  2. ^ Josef Adolf Schmoll called Eisenwerth: Epoch boundary and continuity .: Studies on art history ; Prestel Verlag GmbH + Company, 1985
  3. ^ Wien.gv.at: Ludwig van Beethoven - monument, work of art in public space ; accessed on 19 Sep. 2017
  4. ↑ Ch. Gruber:  Turbain, Carl d. Ä. (1823-1886), ore caster. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 15, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1957–2013, p. 9.
  5. ↑ Andreas Gottsmann: States Art or Culture State? ; Böhlau-Verlag, Vienna Cologne Weimar 2017

Coordinates: 48 ° 12 ′ 6.8 ″  N , 16 ° 22 ′ 37.5 ″  E