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Franz Anton Mesmer

Franz Anton Mesmer
Franz Anton Mesmer
Franz Anton Mesmer
Franz Xaver Messerschmidt, Franz Anton Mesmer, 1770, Metall (Bleiguss?), 48 x 22 x 22 cm, 2005 Leihgabe aus Privatbesitz, Belvedere, Wien, Inv.-Nr. Lg 1150
Foto: Johannes Stoll / Belvedere, Wien
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  • Franz Anton Mesmer

  • Date1770
    • Künstler*in Franz Xaver Messerschmidt (1736 Wiesensteig – 1783 Pressburg/ Bratislava)
  • Object typeHead bust
  • MediumMetal (cast lead?)
  • Dimensions
    48 x 22 x 22 cm
  • SignatureBez. und dat. am Sockel: ANTONIVS.MESMER / PHIL.ET.MED.DOCTOR / F. MESSERSCHMIDT A. 1770
  • Inventory numberLg 1150
  • Locations Belvedere, Lower Belvedere, 21
  • Credit LineDauerleihgabe aus Privatbesitz

  • Physician Franz Anton Mesmer, who was personally acquainted with Franz Xaver Messerschmidt, applied magnets to patients suffering from “nervous diseases.” They were thought to remove blockages and restore the flow of the vital life force. After moving to Paris in 1778, Mesmer started using a baquet for his group therapies. This was a wooden tub filled with “magnetized water” with protruding iron rods and ropes, as shown in the illustration. Patients placed these ropes and rods on particular parts of their bodies to alleviate symptoms.

    Messerschmidt may have found out about the baquet therapies from published reports while he was in Pressburg/Bratislava. It is possible that some Head Pieces reference Mesmer’s methods, which were controversial even in his day. One example is “Character Head” No. 25 with a rope depicted around the bust’s neck.
    • 2005 Dauerleihgabe Privatbesitz
    Contact Provenance Research

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