Arrival[1] of the portrait of Schopenhauer—a true marvel, what Lenbach has done! He once saw Sch. in Frankfurt without knowing who he was; when later shown a photograph of the great man, he recognised the face that had caught his attention, and now he has reproduced the very essence of its character.
Resemblance to R.: the chin, the proportion of the head to the face, one eye sunken, the other wide open, the wistfully sharp gaze characteristic of genius; in it, one finds the entire character of Schopenhauer: the energy, the clarity, even the business-like order of the son of a merchant. — I am almost overwhelmed by this gift—how to repay it?…
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 – 1860)
Spent the morning looking through the accounts, a sorrowful insight into the enormous expenditure. – R. constructs a beautiful circular[2] to the singers. –
In the afternoon, I was invited to a ladies’ gathering; during this, R. held a conference with Feustel and the notary Skutsch. Feustel wants to know that Voltz has sold the whole affair to Batz. When R. tells Feustel how I had at times been astonished at the choice of rogues with whom he always kept company, F. responds with tears in his eyes that it is probably the fate of genius to be abused and betrayed, but he himself can be relied upon; with all his loyalty and everything he has, he is at R’s bidding! … — R. recounts this with great emotion; in the evening, nearly falling asleep, he says to me: “You have never betrayed me, you are the only one!” —
A few guests; the D minor Sonata, E-flat major, etc., and “Eroica” of Beethoven.
[1] Arrival of the picture: though Cosima appears to have written “Ankauf” (purchase), the reference later in the entry to a gift suggests that she meant to write “Ankunft” (arrival).
[2] Letter of invitation to the singers for rehearsals and performances, dated January 20, 1875.
Revised English translation by Jo Cousins.