January, 2005 - Nr. 1
Mozart portrait identified in Berlin museum
TWIG - The last portrait painted of Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has been authenticated in the Berlin Picture Gallery — much to the delight of museum curators.
The portrait hung for over 70 years at the Berlin museum before Mozart fan and music expert Wolfgang Seiller undertook an analysis of the painting using computer imaging technology. He compared it with a similar portrait done in 1777 in Salzburg, which now hangs in the Bologna Music Museum.
The 32 inch by 24 inch painting by Johann Georg Edlinger was likely completed in 1790, just a year before the composer’s untimely death.
On-site restoration expert Ute Stehr returned the painting to its intended luster after its subject matter had been determined. The museum plans to present the painting to the public as part of a special series of gallery talks on January 27, which would have been Mozart’s 249th birthday.
The Berlin Picture Gallery is one of the most important
collections of European painting in the world. Founded in 1830, it includes
examples from the work of masters such as van Eyck, Bruegel, Duerer, Rafael,
Titian, Caravaggio, Rubens, Rembrandt and Vermeer.
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