Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s hometown celebrates. This year is the 270th anniversary of his birth! To honor him, hundreds of little statues fill a park.
Mozart (pronounced MOTE-zart) was a famous composer. He lived from 1756 to 1791. Although he died young, he wrote over 600 pieces of music.
The Mozarteum Foundation on Wednesday unveiled 300 gold-colored statuettes of Mozart. They are in the Mirabell Garden in Salzburg, Austria. The little statues are less than 20 inches tall.
“I didn’t want to do a monument of Mozart. There are already enough of these,” says the artist. His name is Ottmar Hörl. “But I wanted to show his human side . . . he was a normal human being despite his genius.”
God gives us different talents. (Matthew 25:14-30) He gives some folks truly amazing abilities! But we are all equally valuable to Him. He made us in His image. (Genesis 1:27)
Mr. Hörl depicted the composer with his favorite dog. That small pup was named Pimperl. Mozart and his family took long walks with their dogs in the Mirabell Garden.
The mini-Mozarts are also in Mozart’s former home and several pavilions.
The statues are meant to attract visitors.
“Maybe you see the small golden heads shimmering in the Sun on the horizon. And people become curious,” Linus Klumpner says. He works for the Mozarteum Foundation. The group hopes that more people will listen to Mozart’s music.
Mr. Hörl is known for his plastic sculptures. For other projects, he made about 700 statues of Beethoven and 800 of Martin Luther. The artist has created giant rabbits and chickens, along with plenty of other animals.
In all, Mr. Hörl made 400 statues of Mozart. Only 300 are on display now. The rest are in storage in case of theft.
Mr. Klumpner says two were already stolen in the first few hours.
Mr. Hörl has had artwork stolen before. In Germany, a set of Richard Wagner statues disappeared within 10 days. (That composer is known for his operas.)
“That’s just how it is” when art is placed in public, he says. But taking what belongs to someone else is always wrong. (Exodus 20:15)
The Mozart statues will stay on display until August 30. People who would like to own one—without stealing—can buy one for 100 euros. That’s about $114 in U.S. money.
