Portrait of Amalie Beer

Johann Karl Kretschmar

1803

Portrait painting of woman in dress and decorative shawl sitting with natural landscape in background. — The daughter of the wealthiest Jew (Liepmann Meyer Wulff) in Berlin at the turn of the century and married to a wealthy sugar refiner (Jacob Herz Beer), Amalie (Malka) Beer (1767–1854) was a philanthropist and preeminent salonnière known for hosting Berlin’s foremost musicians and intellectuals. She held reformed Jewish prayer services in her home on Sabbaths and holidays, attracting many to the dignified manner and elegant setting of the prayers. Beer was also the mother of four children, including the composer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jacob Mayer Beer; 1791–1864), the astronomer Wilhelm Beer (1797–1850), and the writer and poet Michael Beer (1800–1833).

The daughter of the wealthiest Jew (Liepmann Meyer Wulff) in Berlin at the turn of the century and married to a wealthy sugar refiner (Jacob Herz Beer), Amalie (Malka) Beer (1767–1854) was a philanthropist and preeminent salonnière known for hosting Berlin’s foremost musicians and intellectuals. She held reformed Jewish prayer services in her home on Sabbaths and holidays, attracting many to the dignified manner and elegant setting of the prayers. Beer was also the mother of four children, including the composer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jacob Mayer Beer; 1791–1864), the astronomer Wilhelm Beer (1797–1850), and the writer and poet Michael Beer (1800–1833).