http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5157200.stm

sillage

That's heart-stopping, sillage! One always thinks about Mozart as out of our sphere completely but by linking his widow with a photograph that survived and we can see today, it's an almost tangible link to Mozart himself! Thanks for posting that! It would be nice to read a more thorough biography of Mrs. Mozart. They didn't mention the name of the "Danish diplomat" she later married or what type of life she led with him. That would be interesting too.

5-O,

I really enjoyed reading Mozart's Women by Jane Glover. It has a lot of information about his wife, sister, mother, in-laws and the other women who sang his music (besides his sisters-in-law). It's a well researched book.

It goes into detail about Constanze's life after his death too.

rasputin would love this photo. I do, too . . . photographs are eerie things.

She didn't look 78 particularly. Interesting photo!

Thanks, fiori, it's on my reading list!

Very, very cool, sillage! Imagine how differently we would feel about Mozart himself if he had lived long enough to be photographed. As it s now, we tend to think of him as so far removed from us as humans--just those idealized paintings, you know? Photos make people real.

This is so cool! Thanks, sillage.

I feel a sudden desire for a platinum/diamond bracelet ... and a black velvet cape with red lining ...

Wonderful find, Sillage; thanks!

She gave birth six times during their nine-year marriage?? And she still looks pretty good at 78, too.

I just read in today's paper that the photo is a hoax. Evidently, every few decades, someone resurrects it and tries to pass it off as Mozart's widow. Besides the fact that she was too ill, at the supposed time this photo was taken, to have traveled to that town, technically it was impossible to take photos outside at that time as well because the type of lens needed hadn't been invented yet.

Interesting find, PerfumeMe! Found a link to an article that claims the photo is a hoax:

http://www.playbillarts.com/news/article/4886.html

It may well be that that particular photo is a hoax but here is a link to a Daguerreotype outdoor photo taken by Daguerre in 1839 indicating the technology was already there:

http://www.metmuseum.org/special/French_Da...eotypes/2.r.htm



It looks like all the votes are not in yet...

There were several other reasons listed for calling it a hoax. You might search for the article at latimes.com. It was in yesterday's paper, so I imagine it's online as well.

darn I did not want to publicize a hoax
I was cheering for the topic


http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-ca...1&cset=true

sillage