Clara Wieck Schumann was the wife of Robert Schumann; they married on 12 September 1840 after a prolonged struggle to obtain her father's consent. Their relationship began in childhood when Robert, nine years her senior, admired her piano playing and later lived in the Wieck household while studying with her father.
Clara admired and loved Robert deeply from an early age, and as she grew older they formed a close bond. Their courtship was opposed by her father, who forbade contact and attempted to separate them through concert tours and strict supervision, leading the couple to file a legal petition that ultimately allowed them to marry. A reconciliation between Clara's father and the couple occurred in 1843.
During their marriage they lived together first in Leipzig and later in Dresden and Düsseldorf, sharing a domestic and artistic life. They had eight children. Clara often performed Robert’s music in concerts, and he accompanied her on tours. Together they travelled to Saint Petersburg and Moscow in 1844, where they were received with great honor, and in 1853 they toured the Netherlands. Robert wished her to devote time to composition and influenced aspects of her musical work, while she used their shared diary as a means of communication within the marriage.
