Mozart - A Homage (Salzburg)

Mozart - a homage

Mozart - A Homage is a sculpture in front of the St. Mark's Church on Ursulinenplatz in the old town of Salzburg . The work of art was created in 2005 by the German artist and sculptor Markus Lüpertz as part of the “ Salzburg Art Project ” .

The artwork

The fourth work for Kunstprojekt Salzburg is a 2.95 meter high, color-framed bronze sculpture . The sculpture is a naked female torso on which the artist has placed a bust of the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with the characteristic wig. The artist wants to represent the contradiction between male and female, between strong and delicate, between assembly and disassembly, as well as completion and fragment. This shows the genius, virtuosity and conflict that have been handed down from the life and work of Mozart. The sculpture is intended to bring out both of Lüpertz's creative forms as a sculptor and painter. On a one-meter-high stone pedestal, the sculpture faces the St. Mark's Church by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach in a classic leg / free leg pose . This sculpture is not intended to be a historical portrait or an allegory . Rather, the figure is a symbol of art and the artist and is intended to explore the boundaries of meaning. “The figure is from now. And now it is so that, unfortunately for good reason, Lüpertz is taking the initiative, with a sculpture that does not mean Mozart, but the sphere of activity of his genius: music, to deal with the risk of the unprotected assertion that every art always is the danger of its threat, of harm and mutilation, which can be brought about and inflicted on it at any time. "( Peter Iden : Salzburg Foundation )

"Markus" Lüpertz has chosen the "Markus" place for his Mozart figure. The figure looks out over the "Markus" church, which was built by "Markus" Sittikus in 1616-168, destroyed in the great rock fall of 1669 and rebuilt in the same place from 1699 onwards. The androgynous figure combines important statues of both sexes:

• The standing leg / free leg pose and the right arm bent outwards at right angles are clearly reminiscent of the pose of the young man from Magdalensberg , who was in Salzburg for a long time. The pose of this figure, which was found on Magdalensberg in Carinthia and had Prince Archbishop Matthäus Lang brought to Salzburg, is unique and unmistakable. A copy of the now lost Roman original is in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, a replica of the Vienna copy is in the picture gallery of the Old Residence in Salzburg.
• The thick, coarsely structured thighs and the abdominal area are reminiscent of the Stone Age Venus von Willendorf of the Gravettian culture, found in Austria in 1908, 26,000 years old
• The left arm cut off at the torso and the chest area are clearly reminiscent of the Hellenistic statue of Venus de Milo , which is now in the Louvre. The reference can also be clearly seen here.
• The wig and head are based on the bronze figure "Mozart as Apollo" by Edmund Hellmer , which is located in the foyer of the Great Hall of the Mozarteum Foundation. Edmund Hellmer also designed the golden Johann Strauss in the Stadtpark in Vienna.

The figure is much more than just a homage to Mozart. It represents a bundled history of iconography, which like Mozart's music can inspire or displease on the surface, but in its depth reveals the highest quality and artistic mastery.

Protests

The work of art, which shows Mozart with a female body and stocky legs, as well as a missing left arm, was a nuisance for many people. Two months after its unveiling, in August 2005, the sculpture was deliberately altered with tar and feathers ; the painting that was missing after cleaning was not reapplied. Responsible for the attack on the sculpture was the activist Martin Humer , who was later sentenced to four months of conditional imprisonment for serious damage to property .

background

This work of art can be traced back to an initiative of the Salzburg Foundation. This was founded in 2001 as a private initiative and sees itself as a modern form of patronage. This project, which does not receive any public subsidies, aims to inspire international artists for the city of Salzburg and to encourage them to create a specific work of art for a location of their choice. The invitation was followed by artists such as Manfred Wakolbinger , Anselm Kiefer , Mario Merz , Tony Cragg , Marina Abramović , James Turrell , Stephan Balkenhol , Christian Boltanski , Jaume Plensa , Brigitte Kowanz , Erwin Wurm and Markus Lüpertz. This project was sponsored by the Würth Group .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Information board at Ursulinenplatz
2. ↑ State of Salzburg ( Memento of the original from January 4, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
3. ↑ Four months conditionally for "porn hunter" Humer . In: DerStandard.at , June 6, 2006, accessed on April 11, 2020.
4. ^ Salzburg Foundation

Web links

Commons : Kunstprojekt Salzburg  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 47 ° 48 ′ 8.7 ″  N , 13 ° 2 ′ 18.2 ″  E