13/internal/media/dispatcher/118282/full"Character Head" No. 341964[Franz Xaver Messerschmidt]Franz Xaver MesserschmidtPlaster castSculpturehttps://sammlungtest.belvedere.at/objects/4420/rdf/internal/media/dispatcher/13341/full"Character Head" No. 21possibly early 20th century[Franz Xaver Messerschmidt]Franz Xaver MesserschmidtPlaster castSculpturehttps://sammlungtest.belvedere.at/objects/4442/rdf/internal/media/dispatcher/13318/full"Character Head" No. 20possibly early 20th century[Franz Xaver Messerschmidt]Franz Xaver MesserschmidtPlaster castSculpturehttps://sammlungtest.belvedere.at/objects/10108/rdf/internal/media/dispatcher/13322/full"Character Head" No. 2possibly early 20th century[Franz Xaver Messerschmidt]Franz Xaver MesserschmidtPlaster castSculpturehttps://sammlungtest.belvedere.at/objects/10728/rdf/internal/media/dispatcher/13324/full"Character Head" No. 19possibly early 20th century[Franz Xaver Messerschmidt]Franz Xaver MesserschmidtPlaster castSculpturehttps://sammlungtest.belvedere.at/objects/10731/rdf/internal/media/dispatcher/65358/full"Character Head" No. 171777/1783[Franz Xaver Messerschmidt]Franz Xaver MesserschmidtBrown-flecked alabasterAt first glance, Franz Xaver Messerschmidt’s “Character Heads” resemble the study models used in the academic art training of his day to demonstrate different facial expressions. But these busts, made from high-quality materials such as alabaster and metal, are works of art in their own right, created by the sculptor on his own initiative beginning in the 1770s. In them, he presents a wide range of human expressions, some of which are less than flattering, as in this head, with its eyes wide open and brow deeply furrowed. Messerschmidt’s faces, pushed to extremes, are anything but academic and, with their unusual humor, perhaps challenge the severity of neoclassical ideals.Sculpturehttps://sammlungtest.belvedere.at/objects/4260/rdf/internal/media/dispatcher/65366/full"Character Head" No. 351777/1783[Franz Xaver Messerschmidt]Franz Xaver MesserschmidtAlabaster, brown-flecked stoneSculpturehttps://sammlungtest.belvedere.at/objects/4388/rdf/internal/media/dispatcher/65368/full"Character Head" No. 61777/1781[Franz Xaver Messerschmidt]Franz Xaver MesserschmidtAlabaster, mottled brownish stone Some of Franz Xaver Messerschmidt’s “Character Heads” appear realistic and evoke familiar emotions. Others are clearly distorted, even grotesquely contorted. The most radical case is this head: the lower part of the face has been shaped into something like a pointed beak. The work is made of alabaster, a gypsum stone similar to marble that can be carved with great precision and easily polished. It is still unclear what motivated Messerschmidt to create these objects, so unusual for their time. Their fascination, however, is beyond doubt. Artists have repeatedly found in them a source of inspiration for their own work.Sculpturehttps://sammlungtest.belvedere.at/objects/4389/rdf/internal/media/dispatcher/65352/full"Character Head" No. 331777/1783[Franz Xaver Messerschmidt]Franz Xaver MesserschmidtTin alloy (79.9% tin, 18.8% lead) In this portrait bust, with the head is pressed against the chest, the eyes narrowed, the nose wrinkled, and the lips clenched, Franz Xaver Messerschmidt seems to seek an appropriate expression for intense inner states. It is one of three busts that the Viennese auction house Albert Kende acquired for the Belvedere in 1923 and 1927, thereby expanding the collection’s holdings of “Character Heads” cast in metal alloys. Messerschmidt primarily used tin and lead in varying proportions; here, for instance, 79.9 percent tin and 18.8 percent lead.Sculpturehttps://sammlungtest.belvedere.at/objects/8242/rdf/internal/media/dispatcher/56260/fullThe Sneeze-Inducing Odor1777/1783[Franz Xaver Messerschmidt]Franz Xaver MesserschmidtLead castSculpturehttps://sammlungtest.belvedere.at/objects/19900/rdf/internal/media/dispatcher/65362/full"Character Head" No. 251771/1783[Franz Xaver Messerschmidt]Franz Xaver MesserschmidtAlabaster, grey white stone with brownish spots First published in 1793, "The Peculiar Life History of F. X. Messerschmidt", describes this bust as “Ein Erhängter” (A hanged man). Despite the rope around his neck, the figure depicted seems far from lifeless. Messerschmidt may be alluding to the controversial methods of his contemporary, Franz Anton Mesmer, a physician and healer who was personally acquainted with the sculptor. In Paris, Mesmer treated patients with “nervous disorders” using so-called baquets—wooden tubs filled with “magnetized water” from which iron rods and ropes protruded. Patients applied these to specific parts of the body to relieve their symptoms. Messerschmidt may have learned of such treatments in Pressburg/Bratislava through printed accounts.Sculpturehttps://sammlungtest.belvedere.at/objects/4386/rdf/internal/media/dispatcher/65364/full"Character Head" No. 151771/1783[Franz Xaver Messerschmidt]Franz Xaver MesserschmidtAlabaster, mottled brownish-grey stone With its squinted eyes, scrunched-up nose, and tightly pressed lips, this head resembles other works in the “Character Heads” series. Unlike the bald “Character Head” No. 25 (inv. no. 5637), however, this figure has thick, curly hair. A closer look at the forehead suggests that this may in fact be a wig, with the figure’s own hair peeking out beneath it. Although Messerschmidt likely based the works he called “headpieces” on his own facial features, they should not be understood as self-portraits.Sculpturehttps://sammlungtest.belvedere.at/objects/4387/rdf/internal/media/dispatcher/118276/full"Character Head" No. 341770/1783[Franz Xaver Messerschmidt]Franz Xaver MesserschmidtLead alloy (58.8% lead, 40.4% tin) This bust represents the first of Franz Xaver Messerschmidt’s so-called “Character Heads” to enter the Belvedere’s collection, in 1915. Although the series—numbering at least fifty-five works in various metal alloys and alabaster—is now commonly known by this title, the designation has been in use only since 1805. Messerschmidt himself referred to them simply as “Kopfstücke” (head pieces). Across the series, the sculptor explores a wide range of facial expressions and grimaces, likely based on his own features. Several of the busts push these expressions to extremes, including the present example, with its tightly squinting eyes and firmly pressed lips.Sculpturehttps://sammlungtest.belvedere.at/objects/792/rdf