210 golden Mozart figurines were stolen from an art installation in Salzburg
In Salzburg, Austria, 210 of the 320 golden figurines of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart have disappeared from a public art installation in Mirabell Garden. As a result, the organizers ended the exhibition in the garden ahead of schedule, according to Deutsche Welle English.
The project was timed to coincide with the 270th anniversary of the composer’s birth in his hometown. The 50-centimeter-tall polymer figurines depict Mozart with his dog, Pimperl. The creator of the installation, German conceptual artist Ottmar Gerl, wanted to portray the composer not as a monument, but as an ordinary person despite his genius.
The Mozarteum Foundation reported that it had spare figurines, but there were not enough to make up for the loss. The manufacturer of the figurines is on summer break, so it is impossible to produce replacements quickly. Several dozen exhibits will remain on display at the Mozarteum and Mozart’s birthplace until the end of August.
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Gerl stated that he does not believe the disappearance of the figurines was the work of individual tourists. In his opinion, it could have been an organized theft: the figurines were likely taken at night after the garden closed. After the exhibition ended, the artist planned to sell them for approximately 90 euros each; at that price, the losses amount to roughly 20,000 euros.
Previously, a similar installation by Gerl in Bayreuth, Germany, was also the target of theft: on that occasion, 100 figurines of composer Richard Wagner went missing.
