/internal/media/dispatcher/118276/full"Character Head" No. 34Ein düstrer finsterer Mann1770/1783[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