Beethoven's "Heroic Artist"

So central to the Romantic ideology was the study of and emphasis on humanity — human emotions, human thought and the human environment. William Blake even went so far as to humanize theology in The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. This humanity is key in much of the work of Beethoven as well, encapsulated in his idea of the “heroic artist.”

Rather than using his music as a vehicle for a higher cause, Beethoven intentionally personalized much of his music by bringing the raw emotional power of his pieces to the fore. Music and art was intensely personal to Beethoven, supported by the fact that he injected personal experiences into his works. His sonatas are vividly expressive, stressing the visceral and inherently personal nature of art.

Whereas Bach chose to channel the emotive power of his music through his religion, Beethoven placed the artist at the center of his work. This choice is emblematic of Romanticism’s quasi-deification of the human experience, and it was the artist — the expressive voice of human emotion — that was the epitome of the celebration of humanity.

Rather than God or another awe-inspiring entity, it was simply the human that aroused such passionate and forceful music. The human condition and essence was, after all, believed by romanticists to be the deepest and broadest realm of study — filled with contradictions, yes, but passion as well. It was for this reason that Beethoven placed a variety of emotional symbols into his work, such as the “Fate” knocking on the door in the iconic Fifth Symphony.

The fact that Beethoven ascribed a commanding fate or destiny to his artist speaks volumes. He gave the artist a power previously restricted to the divine, suggesting the added importance he placed on the place of humanity in the world. Human emotion and experience, as encapsulated in the expressive power of the artist, was the most championed of all beings, heavenly or otherwise.