Johann van Beethoven was a German musician, teacher, and singer who sang in the chapel of the Archbishop of Cologne, whose court was at Bonn. He is best known as the father of the celebrated composer
Painting by Benedikt Beckenkamp, allegedly depicting Johann and Maria Magdalena van Beethoven. Whether the portrait is authentic or not is disputed, with Alexander Wheelock Thayer writing that it rests on "uncertain tradition" and it "lacks authoritative attestation".