Fotoreproductie van een portret van Ludwig van Beethoven before 1876

This photographic reproduction of Ludwig van Beethoven's portrait is part of an album in the Rijksmuseum. The image, small in scale, is sharply focused, contrasting with the soft, aged texture of the album page. The portrait itself is framed by the stark geometry of the page, emphasizing the subject's intense gaze. The composition divides the album into two distinct zones: the untouched, blank space and the neatly contained image of Beethoven. This contrast prompts questions about what it means to archive and preserve a cultural icon. We see Beethoven in the tradition of the Romantic hero, but the formal elements of the photograph—its size and placement—suggest a desire to contain and control the myth. The album format, traditionally a space for personal memories, becomes a stage for reconsidering public figures. This tension between the individual and the icon, the personal and the public, gives the work its dynamic charge.