Do you think you may own a sculpture by Franz Xaver Messerschmidt?

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Franz Xaver Messerschmidt was an Austrian sculptor, known for his highly expressive busts of people making less than dignified faces. Messerschmidt quite literally broke them mold when it came to traditional 18th century busts and sculpture portraits, not necessarily in his technique or materials, but more so in his subject matter. In an era where stately men and women of power and wealth were having serious busts commissioned for themselves, Messerschmidt focused on capturing human expression in a way that was far more advanced than many other artists of his time.

Messerschmidt was born in Wiesensteig, Swabia and as a very young boy, became apprenticed to his uncle, an artist named Johannes Baptist Straub. Straub was the sculptor to the court of Munich, and Messerschmidts studied with him there. He later joined the Academy of Art in Vienna where he learned to sculpt metal and carve stone and wood. Austrian Empress Maria Theresa (mother of Marie Antoinette) was fond of his work, and commissioned him for several pieces. This early work was typical of the tastes of the 18th century European aristocracy, generally in the Baroque style.

Once Messerschmidt had established himself, he began to deviate from the typical styles of the day, and started to create larger than life statues of the Austrian Imperial couple. His vivacious, lively and expressive statues of the empress were met with much success and led him to explore more venues in portrait sculpture.

In 1765, Messerschmidt traveled to Rome to study the works of the old masters and returned to Vienna in the early 1770’s. He had become highly sought after by many notable people of the day, and was commissioned to create busts for physicians, thinkers and even art critics. In fact, it was the bust of art critic Franz von Scheyb which may have instigated Messerschmidt’s famous series of “heads.” Messerschmidt portrayed Scheyb without his curly wig and numerous accesories, and despite his bald head (a serious breach of etiquette in that day), quite confident.

Similarly, in 2004, a bust of the Prince Joseph Wenzel I of Liechenstein was discovered, featuring part of the chest, and was said to have provided the missing link between the prototype of his character heads and the ones we know today. These heads typically feature a bald headed man grimacing, screaming, laughing and pinching his face into a number of interesting contorted expressions for a truly comical effect.

In 1769, Messerschmidt was appointed as the substitute professor of sculpture to court painter Martin van Meytens. He was looking to become next in line as the permanent professor, but it is said that his physical (and possibly mental) health was in a questionable state. Sadly, this rumor of mental incapacity may have been a way for the court to exclude this nonconformist artist, and he began to loose commissions. He eventually was forced to move to Bratislava where he lived the rest of his life completing his “heads” until his death in 1783.

The way that the artist named and numbered these heads are not coincidental, nor random. The numbers of these heads are assigned in a way to create a strange numerological pattern that divides the heads into pairs. It is thought that there are some 52 of these heads in existence, with only 49 being known and numbered from 1794 to present day. Where are the other three?

Today, his “heads” are what put Messershmidt on the books among other sculptors of his day. It is said that in 1939, two of his “heads” were stolen by Nazi soldiers, which were later purchased and displayed at a museum in Vienna. These heads, simply named #18 and #28 were sold in 2005 for $4.8 million and $2.5 million, respectively. The sculpture #28 was sold to The Louvre in Paris, and at that time, set the highest record for a price paid at auction for work by an 18th century sculptor. Still wondering about a highly expressive 18th century bust in your family estate? Contact us…it could be by Franz Xaver Messerschmidt.