Hochenecker, Joseph

Hochenecker [Hochnecker], Joseph (1793-1876). In 1987 Rita Steblin discovered in an antique shop in Vienna a pencil-drawn portrait of Beethoven which had been signed by Hochenecker and was dated ‘1819’. In an article published in the Journal of the American Musicological Society in 1992, Steblin claimed that this drawing was used by Krichuber* in 1832 as the model for his lithographed portrait of the composer. This assertion was strongly disputed by S. Brandenburg who argued that it was Hochenecker's drawing which was derived from Kriehuber's lithograph (itself inspired by Johann Stephan Deckers* portrait) and not the other way around; and he accordingly concluded that the date 1819 could not be the true date of the drawing (‘Drawings allow themselves to be predated’). In her response to these statements, Steblin stoutly defended her position. (Both Brandenburg’s obervations and Steblin’s further communication appeared in the Journal of the American Musicological Society in 1994.)