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

Arnulf Rainer (1929)
Arnulf Rainer
1929
Johann Baptist Drechsler (1756 - 1811)
Johann Baptist Drechsler
1756 - 1811
Hans De Jode (1630 - 1663)
Hans De Jode
1630 - 1663
Hedwig Edle von Malheim Friedlaender (1863 - 1945)
Hedwig Edle von Malheim Friedlaender
1863 - 1945
Julius Paul Junghanns (1876 - 1958)
Julius Paul Junghanns
1876 - 1958
Johann Heinrich Carl Reinhold (1788 - 1825)
Johann Heinrich Carl Reinhold
1788 - 1825
Emil Jakob Schindler (1842 - 1892)
Emil Jakob Schindler
1842 - 1892
Suse Krawagna (1964)
Suse Krawagna
1964
Ludwig Koch (1866 - 1934)
Ludwig Koch
1866 - 1934
Moritz Michael Duffinger (1790 - 1849)
Moritz Michael Duffinger
1790 - 1849
Arthur Brusenbauch (1881 - 1957)
Arthur Brusenbauch
1881 - 1957
Konrad Winter (1963)
Konrad Winter
1963
Gustav Zafaurek (1841 - 1908)
Gustav Zafaurek
1841 - 1908
Karl Reichert (1836 - 1918)
Karl Reichert
1836 - 1918
Helmut Schober (1947)
Helmut Schober
1947
Joseph Matthäus Aigner (1818 - 1886)
Joseph Matthäus Aigner
1818 - 1886

Creators Classicism

Clara Lobedan (1840 - 1917)
Clara Lobedan
1840 - 1917
Robert Hennell (1741 - 1811)
Robert Hennell
1741 - 1811
Aleksandr Ivanovich Terebenev (1815 - 1859)
Aleksandr Ivanovich Terebenev
1815 - 1859
Eugène-Antoine Aizelin (1821 - 1902)
Eugène-Antoine Aizelin
1821 - 1902
Franz Thomas Weber (1761 - 1828)
Franz Thomas Weber
1761 - 1828
Karl Pavlovich Bryullov (1799 - 1852)
Karl Pavlovich Bryullov
1799 - 1852
Anton Pavlovich Losenko (1737 - 1773)
Anton Pavlovich Losenko
1737 - 1773
Claude Lorrain (1600 - 1682)
Claude Lorrain
1600 - 1682
Julius Schrader (1815 - 1990)
Julius Schrader
1815 - 1990
Karl Philipp Spierincks (1609 - 1639)
Karl Philipp Spierincks
1609 - 1639
Alexander Vasilyevich Loganovsky (1810 - 1855)
Alexander Vasilyevich Loganovsky
1810 - 1855
Anton Windmaier (1840 - 1896)
Anton Windmaier
1840 - 1896
Edward Henry Berge (1876 - 1924)
Edward Henry Berge
1876 - 1924
Johann Dominik Mahlknecht (1793 - 1876)
Johann Dominik Mahlknecht
1793 - 1876
Ferdinand Maron (1810 - 1865)
Ferdinand Maron
1810 - 1865
Giacomo Guardi (1764 - 1835)
Giacomo Guardi
1764 - 1835
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