Franz Xaver Messerschmidt (1736 - 1783)

Franz Xaver Messerschmidt (1736 - 1783) - photo 1

Franz Xaver Messerschmidt

Franz Xaver Messerschmidt was an 18th-century Austrian sculptor. He is known as a master of the grotesque and caricature. Messerschmidt became famous after his death. During his lifetime his contemporaries considered him at best an extravagant freak, and at worst mentally ill, although no documentary evidence of the sculptor's mental illnesses has yet been found.

Franz Xaver Messerschmidt was an adherent of Classicism at the initial stage of his work. But then the artist decisively abandoned the principles of classical art. He became famous for making a large series of busts, which the sculptor himself called "heads". The faces of the characters in these works are distorted by all kinds of grimaces and display vivid human emotions. All in all Messerschmidt managed to produce more than 50 heads, which during his lifetime did not arouse the interest of potential customers.

In January 2005, the Louvre acquired one of the "heads" at an auction Sotheby's for a record price of 4 800 000 U.S. dollars.

Date and place of birt:6 february 1736, Wiesensteig, Germany
Date and place of death:19 august 1783, Bratislava, Slovakia
Nationality:Austria, Germany, Slovakia
Period of activity: XVIII century
Specialization:Artist, Portraitist, Sculptor
Genre:Portrait sculpture, Portrait
Art style:Classicism

Creators Austria

Désiré Thomassin (1858 - 1933)
Désiré Thomassin
1858 - 1933
Károly Koller (1838 - 1889)
Károly Koller
1838 - 1889
Thomas Ender (1793 - 1875)
Thomas Ender
1793 - 1875
Sigmund L'Allemagne (1840 - 1910)
Sigmund L'Allemagne
1840 - 1910
Theodor Petter (1822 - 1872)
Theodor Petter
1822 - 1872
Osamu Nakajima (1937 - 2013)
Osamu Nakajima
1937 - 2013
Antal Berkes (1874 - 1938)
Antal Berkes
1874 - 1938
Heinrich Salzmann (1959)
Heinrich Salzmann
1959
Oskar Laske (1874 - 1951)
Oskar Laske
1874 - 1951
Joseph Lorenzl (1892 - 1950)
Joseph Lorenzl
1892 - 1950
Georg Philipp Rugendas I (1666 - 1742)
Georg Philipp Rugendas I
1666 - 1742
Jan Kupecky (1667 - 1740)
Jan Kupecky
1667 - 1740
Vojtěch Kubašta (1914 - 1992)
Vojtěch Kubašta
1914 - 1992
Joseph Matthäus Aigner (1818 - 1886)
Joseph Matthäus Aigner
1818 - 1886
Paja Jovanović (1859 - 1957)
Paja Jovanović
1859 - 1957
Eduard Gurk (1801 - 1841)
Eduard Gurk
1801 - 1841

Creators Classicism

Francesco Manno (1754 - 1831)
Francesco Manno
1754 - 1831
Gilles-Lambert Godecharle (1750 - 1835)
Gilles-Lambert Godecharle
1750 - 1835
Giovanni Masi (XIX century - ?)
Giovanni Masi
XIX century - ?
Pieter van Lint (1609 - 1690)
Pieter van Lint
1609 - 1690
Erasmus Quellinus II (1607 - 1678)
Erasmus Quellinus II
1607 - 1678
Antoine Rivalz (1667 - 1735)
Antoine Rivalz
1667 - 1735
Horace van Ruith (1839 - 1923)
Horace van Ruith
1839 - 1923
Pauline Knip (1781 - 1851)
Pauline Knip
1781 - 1851
François Jouffroy (1806 - 1882)
François Jouffroy
1806 - 1882
Jan de Bray (1627 - 1697)
Jan de Bray
1627 - 1697
János Mihály Hesz (1768 - 1836)
János Mihály Hesz
1768 - 1836
Otto Friedrich Theodor von Möller (1812 - 1874)
Otto Friedrich Theodor von Möller
1812 - 1874
Carl Wilhelm Nicolaus Becker (1817 - ?)
Carl Wilhelm Nicolaus Becker
1817 - ?
John Edward Jones (1806 - 1862)
John Edward Jones
1806 - 1862
Joseph Feuerstein (1733 - 1809)
Joseph Feuerstein
1733 - 1809
Henry Park (1816 - 1871)
Henry Park
1816 - 1871
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