Deutsche Bundespost Berlin 200th Birth Anniversary of Bettina von Arnim

DEUTSCHE BUNDESPOST on 21 February 1985 issued a First Day Cover stamps marking the 200th birth anniversary of Bettina von Arnim (the Countess of Arnim) (1785 –1859), born Elisabeth Catharina Ludovica Magdalena Brentano, was a German writer and novelist. The maxim card is based on a portrait of Bettina von Arnim by Ludwig Emil Grimm in 1809. The cancellation postmark originated from Berlin.

Bettina (or Bettine) Brentano was also a publisher, composer, singer, visual artist, an illustrator, patron of young talent, and a social activist. She was the archetype of the Romantic era's zeitgeist and the crux of many creative relationships of canonical artistic figures. Best known for the company she kept, she numbered among her closest friends Goethe, Beethoven, Schleiermacher, and Pückler and tried to foster artistic agreement among them. Many leading composers of the time, including Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn, Robert and Clara Schumann, Franz Liszt, Johanna Kinkel, and Johannes Brahms, admired her spirit and talents.

 

As a composer, von Arnim's style was unconventional, molding and melding favorite folk melodies and historical themes with innovative harmonies, phrase lengths, and improvisations that became synonymous with the music of the era. 

Source: Wikipedia