PORTRAIT OF WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART AT THE AGE OF 13 IN VERONA
There’s a painting that more than others comes to my mind when I listen to any Mozart’s melody. It’s the Portrait of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at the age of 13 in Verona, which was painted by a Veronese artist during the musician’s first stay in Verona.
In this post you’ll discover this famous portrait.
Portrait of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at the age of 13 in Verona
WHEN AND BY WHOM THE PORTRAIT OF WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART AT THE AGE OF 13 IN VERONA WAS PAINTED
The Portrait of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at the age of 13 in Verona was painted in Verona in 1788, during the first stay in Verona of the young musician, considered a gifted child.
There are important records of that stay, several documents and letters that help us recreate, almost day by day, what the young Mozart did and people he met.
However, the famous Veronese portrait is probably the most faithful documentation of the physical appearance of the young Mozart we have.
As Leopold Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus’s father, writes in a brief note in a letter he sent to his wife on January 7th 1770, it was Pietro Lugiati, Receiver Général for the Republic of Venice, who insisted on the execution of the painting that is maybe one of the most famous images of the musical prodigy in the 17th century.
The artist who was commissioned to portray the young Mozart was the Veronese painter Giambettino Cignaroli, whose artistic style was halfway between Raphael and Neoclassicism.
IMPORTANCE OF THE PORTRAIT OF WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART AT THE AGE OF 13 IN VERONA
The portrait is a work full of messages, and each detail gives historical information about Mozart’s stay in Italy, and in particular in the city of Verona, as it was a souvenir photo of that time.
In addition, the Portrait of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at the age of 13 in Verona remained in the residence of Pietro Lugiati, who commissioned the painting, almost until his death, and therefore, this work has a very special relationship with the city of Verona.
WHERE THE PORTRAIT OF WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART AT THE AGE OF 13 IN VERONA IS
In 1788, after Pietro Lugiati’s death, the painting was moved to the Accademia Filarmonica, where it was housed until 1856, when it was bought by the Viennese art collector Leopold von Sonnleithner.
In the Austrian capital city the painting was part of the assets of the Sonnleithner-Kupelwieser family until the early 20th century, and later entered the private collection of the famous pianist Alfred Cortot.
On November 27th 2019, at a Christie’s auction in Paris the painting was sold to an Asian private art collector.
On the occasion of the 251st anniversary of Mozart’s journey to Italy, the portrait is on exhibition at the Castelvecchio Museum Verona until September 2021.
It’s probably the only chance to admire the work in Italy and in the city where it was painted.