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Bust of  Mozart


Between december 2007 and may 2008  I, Riaan Rijken, made this bust of the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

When the work on the Epitaph of Lambrechtsen came to an end during march 2007, there where no inmediate upcoming carving assignments waiting for my attention. I had spend 2200 hours on the epitaph. Day in day out it was modelling, polishing, making molds and so on... There seemed to be no end to it. Is there life after a tombstone? I asked myself time and again.

And Yes, there was!  On april the 4th, 2007, shortly after the disclosure of the epitaph I watched a television documentary from Frans Bromet, titled: "Everything for sale. " He was visiting the Amsterdam couturier Henk Hendrikse, who is a fanatic admirer of the music of Mozart. He was looking for a bust of his favourite composer.

Now, between 1980 and 1990  I had made a vast study of Mozarts music and for that reason the thought of a bust of Mozart didn't leave my thoughts anymore. So I decided to make one, wether it would be sold or not. To me it offered the chances to discover new ways in modelling and to create something  in 18th century style, opposite to the Lambrechtsen epitaph wich is early 17th century.

There are only a few pictures showing Mozart of wich is known that they were made during his lifetime and therefore give a trustworthy image of how Mozart really looked. The vast majority of existing pictures are made after his death and they are more or less copies of older pictures.

For my bust I used the unfinished painting of Mozarts brother in law Joseph Lange, dating 1789-90. This painting is kept in in the Mozarteum in Salzburg. From this painting only the face is finished. It shows Mozart behind the keyboard, concentrating on his music. His widow Constanze found this portrait the best resembling of all portaits that had been made of him. This portrait is also the last that has been made of him.

From all materials plaster is the most appropriate to express yourself.  You can mould it like clay, cut it like wood,  carve it like stone and spread it like paint.
I made the bust of plaster by randomly putting clots of plaster on top of each other. Sometimes such a clot reveals something beautiful.  e.g. At the pony tail were two clots that, later on,  I changed in two feathers. Then I carved out the shape. After that I made a mould and  casted a selfmade marble mortar. The stand in black, the bust in white.
A same bust, signed and dated by me, is for sale.

price € 8000,- including 6% VAT, exclusive costs of transport
dimensions: 75x50x35 cm. weight: 100 kg.
 

see how the bust was made in this album