"Beethoven privat" (The Private Beethoven), advertising post card

Due to the fame of his name and music Beethoven was often used as a motif in advertising. His works supplied the background music for numerous products. When his face was shown, it was usually taken from well-known portraits, such as the painting by Stieler for an advertising campaign of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in 2004, here playing with the Beethoven motif and “myth”.