Joseph Lange (

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg ...

, 1 April 1751 –

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, 17 September 1831) was an actor and amateur painter of the 18th century. Through his marriage to

Aloysia Weber ''Aloysia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. They are known generally as beebrushes.Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

Life

His first marriage, in 1775, was to Maria Anna Elisabeth Schindler, daughter of Philipp Ernst Schindler, a miniature painter and director of painting at the Viennese porcelain factory. Maria Anna died on 14 March 1779 of pneumonia. He married

Aloysia Weber ''Aloysia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. They are known generally as beebrushes.Constanze in Vienna in 1782, and thus became Lange's brother-in-law. The Mozarts and the Langes seem to have been friends, as the written record preserves various occasions that they socialized together, as did Wolfgang and Joseph individually. Both Lange and Mozart were Masons; see

Mozart and Freemasonry For the last seven years of his life Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a Mason. The Masonic order played an important role in his life and work. Mozart's lodges Mozart was admitted as an Apprentice to the Viennese Masonic lodge called "Zur Wohltätigke ...

. In 1783, Lange performed in one of Mozart's works, a "Masquerade" (pantomime with music) composed for

Carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival t ...

. The characters were traditional figures of the

Commedia dell'arte (; ; ) was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is also known as , , and . Charact ...

, and the music was composed by Mozart (K. 446). Lange played Pierrot, and Mozart himself took the role of Harlequin. In 1786, Lange appeared in another work by Mozart, his opera ''

Der Schauspieldirektor ' (''The Impresario''), K. 486, is a comic ''singspiel'' by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, set to a German libretto by Gottlieb Stephanie, an Austrian ''Schauspieldirektor''. Originally, it was written because of "the imperial command" of the Holy Rom ...

''. He took the spoken role of Herz, his wife Aloysia taking one of the two primary soprano roles, Madame Herz. As of 1795, he lived separated from Aloysia. In 1808, he published his autobiography. From around 1800 on he lived together with a Therese Koch with whom he had three daughters.

Assessment

The tenor Michael Kelly, writing in his 1826 reminiscences, called Lange an "excellent comedian"; that is, player of comedy. Kelly had spent the early years of his career in Vienna as an opera singer.

Lange's portraits of Mozart and family

Lange painted his famous portrait of his brother-in-law in 1782/83. The following image is a detail of the portrait emphasizing

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

's face:

The complete portrait was later affixed to a larger painting left unfinished. It is shown in the next figure. Mozart-Lange

In March 2009 the musicologist Michael Lorenz was the first to realize that the painting originally was a miniature about 19 x 15 centimeters in size, showing only Mozart's face. It was later affixed to a larger canvas, apparently with the intention to portray Mozart seated at the piano, but the enlarged painting was never completed. Constanze Mozart, interviewed in old age by Vincent and Mary Novello, said that Lange's portrait was "by far the best likeness of him." Lange also painted a small portrait of Constanze in 1782 which was later enlarged: During

Leopold Mozart Johann Georg Leopold Mozart (November 14, 1719 – May 28, 1787) was a German composer, violinist and theorist. He is best known today as the father and teacher of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and for his violin textbook ''Versuch einer gründlichen ...

's visit to Vienna in 1785, Lange drew a portrait of him as well, but this is lost. He continued to paint into his old age.Constant von Wurzbach: "Lange, Joseph". In: ''Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich'', vol. 1

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Notes

References

*Lange, Joseph (1808).
Biographie des Joseph Lange
'. Vienna: Peter Rehms sel. Witwe. *Blümml, Emil Karl (1923). ''Aus Mozarts Freundes- und Familien-Kreis''. Vienna: E. Strache. *Deutsch, Otto Erich (1965). ''Mozart: A Documentary Biography''. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. *Einstein, Alfred (1962). ''Mozart: His Character, His Work''. Oxford University Press. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lange, Joseph 1751 births 1831 deaths Mozart family 18th-century Austrian painters 18th-century Austrian male artists Austrian male painters 19th-century Austrian painters 19th-century male artists Artists from Würzburg