Joseph Lange

Joseph Lange (Würzburg, Holy Roman Empire 1 April 1751 – Vienna, 17 September 1831) was an actor and amateur painter of the 18th century.

The Mozarts and the Langes seem to have been friends, as the written record preserves various occasions that they socialized together,[4] as did Wolfgang and Joseph individually.

[10] The tenor Michael Kelly, writing in his 1826 reminiscences, called Lange an "excellent comedian"; that is, player of comedy.

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.