Family portrait: Maria Anna (“Nannerl”), Wolfgang, Anna Maria (medallion) and Leopold Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age resulted in more than 800 works representing virtually every Western classical genre of his time. Many of these compositions are acknowledged as pinnacles of the symphonic, concertante, chamber, operatic, and choral repertoire. Mozart is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of Western music, with his music admired for its “melodic beauty, its formal elegance and its richness of harmony and texture”. The oil painting, titled Portrait of the Mozart Family, is traditionally attributed to Johann Nepomuk della Croce and was painted around 1780. In the foreground, the painting depicts Mozart and his sister Maria Anna together playing a fortepiano, and their father Leopold holding a violin. In the background, their recently deceased mother Anna Maria is depicted in a framed portrait alongside a sculpture of Apollo playing a lyre. The painting was considered by Maria Anna to have the most authentic portrait of her brother, and has inspired further depictions of Mozart. It is currently in the collection of the Tanzmeisterhaus Salzburg.

Painting credit: attributed to Johann Nepomuk della Croce