Of the daughters of the master’s nephew, Karoline and Marie married brothers, namely:  Franz and Paul Weidinger.  Gabrielle married a bank cashier named Robert Heimler.  The youngest, Hermine, remained single.  She graduated in 1889 from the conservatory at Vienna in piano and harmonium.  Of the married daughters, only one, Marie, had children; a son and daughter.  The only descendants of the Beethovens known to be living in 1891, are Karoline Weidinger, a widow, Gabrielle Heimler, and the son and daughter of Marie Weidinger.  All these persons were at last accounts living in Vienna.

CHAPTER XI

METHODS OF COMPOSITION

A good painter should paint two things; man, and the thoughts of
man’s soul. 
—­LEONARDO DA VINCI.

Beethoven usually had a definite idea before him when composing.  The work progressed rapidly under such conditions.  Often, however, on further consideration, a better idea would present itself in certain places on reading the work over, and these portions would have to be rewritten.  He stated in this connection that he always had a picture in his mind when composing, which he aimed to reproduce in his work.  “Ich habe immer ein Gemaelde in meinen Gedanken wenn ich am componiren bin, und arbeite nach demselben” (Thayer).  Sometimes this picture was shadowy and elusive, as his gropings in the sketch-books show.  He would then apply himself to the task of fixing the idea, writing and rewriting, until it stood out clearly in accordance with the concept already formed in his mind.

This picture, or idea, or representation, which exists in the brain of the artist, and to which he seeks to give expression in a tangible form so as to communicate it to others, is a miracle which is constantly going on in his inner consciousness.  He can at will call up impressions, which immediately become objectified on the canvas of his mind, in the form of pictures.  This mental process is the same in every form of creative work whether it be painting, sculpture, or any of the arts.  The architect, before putting pencil to paper, will have the splendid cathedral before him as in a vision; the sculptor, the ideal form and facial expression.  The mind of the artist is a vast canvas on which pictures appear, remaining a longer or shorter period at his will, and, when no longer required, giving place to others.  The idea once recorded seems never to appear again.  Nature is never so prodigal as with the man of genius.  Of all her children he is the favorite; these pictures are given him in superfluity, out of all proportion to his ability to use them.  The harder he works in the effort to catch up with his material, the more plentiful it becomes.

Mr. Chamberlain, in his Life of Wagner, calls attention to the curious fact that Wagner produced his operas in pairs for the most part, up to his fortieth year.  This was true of Beethoven with his symphonies, to a great extent.  He became so fired with enthusiasm while on a great work, his thoughts became so prolific, that another work must, perforce, come into being to utilize the surplus material.