A new modern-day portrait of Mozart inspired by figures such as Johnny Cash, Johnny Rotten and Eric Clapton, was last week unveiled by the Royal Northern Sinfonia.

The orchestra, resident at the Sage Gateshead, commissioned the portrait from artist Tim O'Brien to challenge the image many have of the composer and his works. 'Somehow we've come to think of his music as pretty, brilliant and maybe even a little two-dimensional,' said the orchestra's Music Director Lars Vogt. 'But in fact the more you listen to him the more you realise that we've got him wrong. That music is often dramatic, daring, edgy and, yes, dark, and those qualities must have been there in the man.'

The image has since been projected onto buildings around Gateshead and Newcastle, to mark the start of the Royal Northern Sinfonia's new season, the first of Vogt's tenure. 

By launching the gallery by clicking the first image above, you can see how the protrait of Mozart progressed from the early commission through to the final image, with words from artist Tim O'Brien explaining his influences and ideas at each step.