Imagine Mozart: the composer in art

For 100 years, the Würzburg Residence has been one of the main venues used during the Mozart Festival. This anniversary will not only be celebrated in music, but also visually with the exhibition "Imagine Mozart." It highlights how various artists have beeen influenced by Mozart's work and personality over the past 250 years.

This is how Mozart is supposed to have looked. This portrait created by the Würzburg painter Joseph Lange is considered to be the only authentic Mozart painting. Other portraits are often idealized to fit the mental image of a creative genius, says art historian Damian Dombrowski. "Few dared to show Mozart as unattractive as he actually was — according to those around him."

It was not until 70 years after his death that the first monument to Mozart was erected in Salzburg. On the right-hand side, there is an image of a monument design by Edmund von Hellmer. He placed Mozart on a pedestal surrounded by columns and garlands. The sculptor shows Mozart as a genius caught in a moment of inspiration, his gaze wandering into the distance. But the design was never realized.

Arman was a French-US American object artist of the Nouveau Realisme artistic movement. He became famous for his montages of everyday objects. His "Portrai-robot de Mozart" (Mugshot of Mozart) in 1985 was made from instruments, music books, and clothing. It was meant to serve as an example of how the idea of Mozart is composed not only of his music, but also of myth and image.

Art historian and co-curator of the exhibition Damian Dombrowski finds this bronze by Louis-Ernest Barrias created in the 1880s to be a depiction full of intimacy and empathy. It shows Mozart as a child. "Mozart is completely at home with himself and his violin. He doesn't seem to notice the viewer."

Many images that deal with Mozart are inspired by his operas and their characters, like Cherubino from Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro" seen here. The role of the androgynous youth is sung by women. The portrait painter Jacques-Émile Blanche put his favorite model Desirée Manfred in the clothes of Cherubino for this portrait, which is said to have been painted around 1903.

"The Champagne Song" by impressionist Max Slevogt is one of the highlights of the exhibition. Slevogt felt a close kinship with Mozart's operas. He surrounded himself with Mozart portraits and drawings. Slevogt's portrait of the opera star Francisco d'Andrade in the champagne-colored costume of Don Giovanni has become one of the most recognized paintings of an opera character.

Expressionist Oskar Kokoschka designed the set and costumes for Mozart's "The Magic Flute" twice — once in the 1950s and once in the 1960s. He combined various informal scenes from his sketches of the opera on this woven tapestry.

Artists of the 20th century were particularly inspired by Mozart's music. "It is quite rare for Gerhard Richter to give a painting a title," says Damian Dombrowski. The curator sees clarity, transparency and playfulness in Richter's color composition — just as is the case in Mozart's music. The exhibition "Imagine Mozart” will be shown at the Kulturspeicher Würzburg gallery until July 11.