Helene von Breuning (1750–1838)

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Reproduction of an oil portrait of Helene von Breuning by Gerhard von Kügelgen, ca. 1790, from the original at the Beethoven-Haus, Bonn.

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Exhibited: The Beethovens on the Rhine (2020). Exhibition text: Helene von Breuning lost her husband in the electoral palace fire of 1777, leaving her a widowed mother of four young children at the age of 27. In 1784 she employed the 13-year-old Beethoven to teach piano to two of her children, Eleonore and Lorenz. According to Beethoven’s childhood friend Wegeler, Helene had great influence over Beethoven and was better than most at handling his stubbornness and occasionally unsociable behavior. The young Beethoven also had a habit of drifting off into his own thoughts and becoming oblivious to the world around him; when this happened Helene would shrug and say “He has his raptus again today.”

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This work may not be in the public domain and may be protected by copyright laws of the country of the copyright holder. The digital images attached to this record may be used for teaching or research purposes under the provisions of the fair-use statute of the copyright law of the United States. For further information see the Beethoven Center's website at https://www.sjsu.edu/beethoven/collection/library-materials/index.php

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