Mathilde Wesendonck
Image:Mathilde Wesendonck by Karl Ferdinand Sohn, 1850.jpg|thumb|Mathilde Wesendonck by Karl [Ferdinand Sohn], in the StadtMuseum Bonn
Image:Zuerich Villa Wesendonck.jpg|thumb|The villa of Otto and Mathilde Wesendonck in Zurich, Switzerland
[Image:WesendonckMaerchen.jpg|thumb|Cover of Märchen u. Märchen Spiele by Mathilde Wesendonck (published: Düsseldorf, 1864)]
Image:120909 Karin Musik Wagner Wesendonck Grab Vergoldung Enthuellung.JPG|thumb|Grave of Mathilde Wesendonck and family in Bonn, Germany
Agnes Mathilde Wesendonck was a German poet and author. The words of five of her verses were the basis of Richard Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder; the composer was infatuated with her, and his wife Minna blamed Mathilde for the break-up of their marriage.
Biography
Agnes Mathilde Luckemeyer was born in Elberfeld in the Rhineland of Germany in 1828. In 1848 she married the silk merchant Otto Wesendonck. Otto was a great admirer of Wagner's music, and after he and Mathilde met the composer in Zurich in 1852, he placed a cottage on his estate at Wagner's disposal. By 1857, Wagner had become infatuated with Mathilde. It is not known whether she returned his affections to the same degree, or if the affair - if there was one - was ever consummated. Nevertheless, the episode inspired Wagner to put aside his work on Der Ring des Nibelungen and begin work on Tristan und Isolde.In 1858, Wagner's wife Minna intercepted a romantic letter from Wagner to Mathilde. After the resulting confrontation, Wagner left Zürich alone, for Venice. Minna went to Dresden to stay with her family. She wrote to Mathilde before departing for Dresden:
"I must tell you with a bleeding heart that you have succeeded in separating my husband from me after nearly twenty-two years of marriage. May this noble deed contribute to your peace of mind, to your happiness."In her autobiographical reminiscences Mathilde later wrote about Wagner's stay in Zürich, but made no mention of troubles with Minna.
In 1866 Mathilde met with Johannes Brahms in Zürich and enabled him to study some of Wagner's manuscripts.
Mathilde Wesendonck died in Altmünster in 1902, and she is buried at the Alter Friedhof with the Wesendonck family in Bonn, Germany.
Selected works
Gedichte, Volkslieder, Legenden, Sagen Märchen u. Märchen Spiele Natur-Mythen: Mai 1865 Genovefa: Trauerspiel in 3 Aufzügen Gudrun. Schauspiel in 5 Akten, Deutsches Kinderbuch in Wort und Bild Friedrich der Grosse: dramatische Bilder nach Franz Kugler Edith, oder, Die Schlacht bei Hastings: ein Trauerspiel Gedichte, Volksweisen, Legenden und Sagen Der Baldur-Mythos Odysseus: ein dramatisches Gedicht in zwei Theilen und einem Vorspiel Alte und neue Kinder-Lieder und Reime- ''Alkestis: Schauspiel in vier Aufzügen.''