Niccolò Paganini

1782 (Genoa, Italy) – 1840 (Nice, Piedmont, now France)

Paganini met Ingres (who drew him) in Italy, Chopin in Poland, and the Schumanns, Meyerbeer, Spohr and Spontini in Germany, impressing them all. He inspired Robert Schumannn to make a career in music, and Liszt to do for the piano what he had done for the violin. Both Hummel and Felix Mendelssohn accompanied him in concert. Delacroix saw him play, but whether they met is unknown. He was involved with his friend Rossini’s music, and a generous supporter of Berlioz’s, though he didn’t initially appreciate ‘Harold in Italy’, and the 20,000 francs he sent him may really have come from another benefactor.