Death mask of Ludwig van Beethoven

Beethoven died on 26 March 1827. Several thousand people followed the coffin in the funeral procession. The painter Josef Danhauser made the death mask only a few hours after Beethoven passed away. Danhauser had to wait until a barber had shaved Beethoven’s face. Only a few decades earlier, the preparation of death masks had been reserved for kings and nobles. Beethoven’s mask is evidence of the new status of artists in the early 19th century.