Portrait: Alban Berg

The Composer Seen Through the Eyes of his Teacher

This 1910 oil portrait of the Austrian Composer Alban Berg (1885-1935) was painted by his teacher Arnold Schönberg, a self-taught artist. Schönberg’s interest in painting was prompted by the same impulse that led him to become a composer: his stated need for expressive outlets that didn’t require him to explain himself. Given his volubility regarding mu…