Johann and Maria Magdalene (1746–1787) van Beethoven, Beethoven's parents

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Portraits of an unknown woman and man, falsely attributed as Beethoven's father, Johann, and mother, Maria Magdalene.

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Exhibited: The Beethovens on the Rhine (2020). "Beethoven’s father Johann was a court musician in Bonn, like his father before him. Johann gave Beethoven a similar education to the one he had received from his own father, teaching him keyboard and violin. Johann, like his own mother, struggled with alcoholism. The three Beethoven brothers, Ludwig, Carl, and Johann, sometimes had to go and fetch their father and bring him home when he had had too much to drink. Johann’s voice and reputation were damaged by his drinking and he was released from his duties in 1789, making young Ludwig, then aged 18, the main breadwinner and head of the family. With the agreement of the Elector, half of Johann’s pension was paid directly to Beethoven so that he could support his younger brothers and pay off his father’s debts. Johann died soon after Beethoven’s move to Vienna in 1792."

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