Two 18th-century images have recently been confirmed as portraits of Mozart. The identification by Cliff Eisen is a major breakthrough in Mozart studies, particularly as there are few reliable likenesses of the composer from his years in Vienna.
This portrait by Joseph Hickel [1736-1807] was most likely painted in 1783. In a letter cited by Eisen in his research on this topic Mozart writes to his patron Martha Elisabeth von Waldstätten:
'As for the beautiful red coat, which attracts me enormously... I must have a coat like that, for it is one that will really do justice to certain buttons which I have long been hankering after. They are mother-of-pearl with a few white stones around the edge and a fine yellow stone in the center. I should like all my things to be of good quality, genuine and beautiful.' Vienna, September 28, 1782