Gold statuettes of Mozart stolen in Salzburg
More than 200 gold statuettes of Austria’s most famous composer disappeared from his hometown of Salzburg, leaving a tribute to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on his 270th birthday considerably less crowded, reports BritPanorama.
The Mozarteum Foundation unveiled 320 statuettes, each less than 20 inches tall, depicting Mozart with his dog on July 15. Designed by German conceptual artist Ottmar Hörl, the exhibition aimed to celebrate the composer’s legacy.
Within two weeks, however, over 80 of the polymer figures went missing, and by Wednesday, a total of 210 had disappeared.
“The worst thing for an artist is when his work dissolves,” Hörl stated to the German news agency dpa. He speculated that the theft was not the work of individual visitors but rather an “organized theft.”
Originally intended to sell for around 100 euros ($114) each at the end of the exhibition, the perpetrators have not achieved a windfall given the number taken. The mini-Mozarts were placed not just in the garden of the composer’s former home but also in his living quarters and various pavilions.
While some backup statuettes had been set aside in case of theft, there were not enough to cover the significant losses. Furthermore, the manufacturer was on holiday, complicating any immediate remedy.
The exhibition, now featuring more widely spaced statuettes, is scheduled to remain on display until August 30.
This is not the first instance of art theft for Hörl. At a prior installation in Bayreuth, Germany, an entire collection of Richard Wagner statues was stolen within ten days.
“That’s just the nature of public space. When you work as an artist in a public space, you mustn’t complain about what is happening there,” he added. “It ranges from destruction to theft. That’s just how it is.”
Mozart, born on January 27, 1756, in Salzburg, is celebrated by the Mozarteum Foundation, which offers concerts, maintains museums dedicated to him, and supports related research.
“I didn’t want to do a monument of Mozart. There are already enough of these. But I wanted to show his human side, that he was a normal human being despite his genius,” Hörl explained to The Associated Press.
To give the statues a human touch, he depicted the composer with his beloved dog, Pimperl. Mozart and his family were known for their long walks with their dogs in the Mirabell Garden, adjacent to their residence.
