Last February, I was surprised by an e-mail asking to exhibit one of my drawings in a historical museum in Germany. I thought: “Fake, obviously.”
But it was real. The person writing to me was Nicole Kämpken, manager of Beethoven-Haus, in Bonn, the birthplace of Beethoven (the musician, not the dog). They were organizing an exhibition of cartoons, comics and caricatures, and had found, on the Internet, an illustration of mine that portrayed Beethoven as a child playing “Ode to Joy” on his piano. They liked this work and wanted my permission to include it in the exhibition. I asked if I had to pay anything - no, they really just wanted my consent and a high-resolution file. What was I going to say? “Here is my Google Drive password, can you choose ten more?” It would sound kinda nuts.
© Liandro 2020
I had made this drawing back in 2020. It was before Gabe was born, and I was staying at home all day (#pandemicFeelings), so I had nothing less than a lot of time to draw. One day back then, my great friend and “compadre” Ivens Costa told me that the Symphony Orchestra of Petrobras had launched, here in Brazil, a caricature contest to celebrate Beethoven's 250th birthday. I decided to participate. Didn't win anything in the competition, but I liked the artwork I made and decided to publish it in my portfolio and social media. At the time, it was even used as the cover image in an episode of ACearáCast, a Psychology podcast from our hometown. And life went on.
Of course, I didn't imagine this artwork's fate three years later.
For the Beethoven-Haus staff, who promotes several exhibits a year, I imagine it must have been pretty ordinary, but, for me, it was Willy Wonka's golden ticket flying right into my face. I gained some acknowledgement at my workplace (Federal University of Ceara). I even appeared in the local media.
And, with immense gratitude for my family's unconditional support, I was lucky enough to be able to go to Bonn to visit the exhibition.
Ticket office and gift shop
The entrance is here!
Private garden and one of the statues that scared Gabe
A nice-looking door
Notice the property seal that Beethoven used to apply on his instruments
Creaking floor since the 1700s
View from the top floor
Gorgeous instagrammable space
Photos: Mandy Barroso / Liandro Roger
The Beethoven-Haus is a small museum, very significant because it was the actual house where Beethoven was born. The museum's collection contains pianos, violins, music sheets, paintings and several other personal objects that belonged to the musician. There’s a cozy garden and three floors of history made of creaking wood from the original building integrating the symphony of the place.
The exhibit called "How Funny! Beethoven in caricatures, cartoons and comics”, to which I was invited, was set up in a separate room, right at the entrance of the house. Bright and colorful, this space contrasted sharply with the classic atmosphere of the museum. Drawings, comic strips, illustrated books and animations formed an incredibly diverse selection of creative, hilarious, critical, intelligent and, above all, funny works showing Beethoven through the eyes of artists from various parts of the world, including notorious names such as Ozamu Tezuka, the "father of Manga", and Charles Schulz, the creator of Peanuts. And, on one of the counters, there was my Kid Beethoven. How exciting!
Trying to absorb some knowledge
Hey, it wasn't fake after all!
Dr. Silke Bettermann, curator of the exhibition, was kind enough to grant us a guided tour with interesting insights into the artworks. Nicolas Magnin, from management, also welcomed us and walked us though the museum's main collection.
Gabe didn't really like the museum because it was dark, poor thing. 🥰 And he thought the statues were kinda scary. But he loved the “How Funny” exhibit, had a great time watching the animated cartoons and looking at the Peanuts comic strips, and he couldn’t get enough of laughing at a drawing of Beethoven bringing a piano down to the ground from playing it so hard… 😂
Bonn is a beautiful small town with the exact atmosphere that we expected from Germany. We didn’t drink any beer, but we got to try the authentic Schnitzel, which, for someone who doesn't speak German, such as myself, might sound like a cute crossbreed Schnauzer and Spitz puppy, but it’s actually a delicious slice of breaded pork meat served with amazingly tasty fried potatoes.
I can’t wait to be surprised again by another e-mail any of these days. I miss Schnitzels.
Want to follow my updates? Subscribe to my newsletter.
