Still life with a Beethoven mask Detail backside

The still life emphasises the metaphysical and superhuman dimensions of the composer. The extinguished candle points to the ephemerality of all earthly things. The life mask of Beethoven on the wall, crowned with a laurel wreath, symbolises the immortality of his music, indicated by the violin and the sheets of music.

The painting by Josef Jurutka was shown at the 1939 German Art Exhibition in the Haus der Kunst in Munich. It was one of the two paintings that Adolf Hitler bought for his own collection. For Hitler Beethoven embodied the superiority of German music.