The Beethoven Journal
Abstract
Currently displayed in the Beethoven-Haus in Bonn is a bust labeled “Luc. Brutus,” referring to Lucius Junius Brutus, the Roman republic’s first consul. Beethoven’s purported ownership of this porcelain figure is not beyond question, following its first mention by Anton Schindler in the third edition (1860) of his Beethoven biography. Its prior history, however, is unknown. Even so, scholars have invoked it, owing to this ancient official’s extreme means to preserve the republic: he condemned his two sons to death for conspiring to overthrow the regime. Writers have linked this remarkable act of rescuing the state from the threat of tyranny to Beethoven’s political principles. Such narratives have been tidy, save for one fact: despite its label, the bust is not that of Lucius Brutus.
I begin with a review of the documentation regarding its provenance. For the first time, I identify the marble original, now in Naples, and the place in Vienna that produced the bust, now kept in Bonn. I then track other extant copies. Catalogues always labeled these as Caesar’s killer, Marcus Brutus, starting with its first mention in 1791, and persisting well into the nineteenth century. Analyzing casts of different sizes and the relative frequency with which their identities appeared, I argue that misnaming the Bonn bust was not a careless oversight by its maker. Rather, the mislabeling indicates that the name and dramatic story of the elder Brutus had greater appeal to any future recipient.
Recommended Citation
Messing, Scott
(2026)
"The Small Reveal: The Identity of Beethoven’s Brutus Bust,"
The Beethoven Journal: Vol. 38, Article 2.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.55917/2771-3938.1023
Available at:
https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/beethovenjournal/vol38/iss1/2
