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

Paja Jovanović (1859 - 1957)
Paja Jovanović
1859 - 1957
Marcel Kammerer (1878 - 1959)
Marcel Kammerer
1878 - 1959
Adolf Constantin Baumgartner-Stoiloff (1850 - 1924)
Adolf Constantin Baumgartner-Stoiloff
1850 - 1924
Konstantin Stoitzner (1863 - 1933)
Konstantin Stoitzner
1863 - 1933
WilliWilli Kopf (1949)
WilliWilli Kopf
1949
Franz Anton Zeiller (1716 - 1794)
Franz Anton Zeiller
1716 - 1794
Martin von Molitor (1759 - 1812)
Martin von Molitor
1759 - 1812
Roland Paris (1894 - 1945)
Roland Paris
1894 - 1945
Hubert Maurer (1738 - 1818)
Hubert Maurer
1738 - 1818
Marie Müller (1847 - 1935)
Marie Müller
1847 - 1935
Zygmunt Aydukevich (1861 - 1917)
Zygmunt Aydukevich
1861 - 1917
Edmund Adler (1876 - 1965)
Edmund Adler
1876 - 1965
Julius Kossak (1824 - 1899)
Julius Kossak
1824 - 1899
August Heinrich Mansfeld (1816 - 1901)
August Heinrich Mansfeld
1816 - 1901
Philipp Ferdinand de Hamilton (1664 - 1750)
Philipp Ferdinand de Hamilton
1664 - 1750
Carl Mediz (1868 - 1945)
Carl Mediz
1868 - 1945

Creators Classicism

Iakov Luchanskii (1876 - 1978)
Iakov Luchanskii
1876 - 1978
Hiacynt Alchimowicz (1841 - 1897)
Hiacynt Alchimowicz
1841 - 1897
Matteo Baccelli (1770 - 1850)
Matteo Baccelli
1770 - 1850
Francois-Joseph Deutsch (1784 - 1860)
Francois-Joseph Deutsch
1784 - 1860
Emilio Fiaschi (1858 - 1941)
Emilio Fiaschi
1858 - 1941
Thomas Chippendale (1718 - 1779)
Thomas Chippendale
1718 - 1779
Pompeo Girolamo Batoni (1708 - 1787)
Pompeo Girolamo Batoni
1708 - 1787
Clara Lobedan (1840 - 1917)
Clara Lobedan
1840 - 1917
Edme Bouchardon (1698 - 1762)
Edme Bouchardon
1698 - 1762
Crescenzio Onofri (1634 - 1698)
Crescenzio Onofri
1634 - 1698
Thomas Blanchet (1614 - 1689)
Thomas Blanchet
1614 - 1689
Emily Eden (1797 - 1869)
Emily Eden
1797 - 1869
Olga Weiss (1853 - 1903)
Olga Weiss
1853 - 1903
Claude Marie Dubufe (1790 - 1864)
Claude Marie Dubufe
1790 - 1864
Jeanne Bardey (1872 - 1954)
Jeanne Bardey
1872 - 1954
Carlo Marattа (1625 - 1713)
Carlo Marattа
1625 - 1713
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