/internal/media/dispatcher/65358/full"Character Head" No. 17Der Schaafkopf1777/1783[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