Bronze Head - Grotesque Grimace - Franz Xaver Messerschmidt

The German-Austrian sculptor Franz Xaver Messerschmidt acquired special fame by his curious character heads. This bizarre bronze bust is an art work of character heads collection, a repertoire of 52 pieces. The oddity of this work is the grotesquely exaggerated physiognomy: the hyperextended head, the raised eyebrows, the eyes, the deep wrinkles, especially in the forehead, and the nose straight forward as well as the chin turned outwards. The bust bears the artist’s name "X. Messerschmidt ".

Contemporary Sculpture - Contemporary Art - Sculptures for Sale

As all of the bronze products in our shop, this exhibit is hand-cast in our own foundry and subject to our strict quality inspections throughout the entire process of fabrication. All of our sculptures are exclusively compounded with the help of lost-wax casting.

Franz Xaver Messerschmidt was born on February 6, 1736 in Wiesensteig and died on August 19, 1783 in Pressburg. In the course of his life, the artist created many different busts and reliefs. Especially those of his patron Maria Theresia of Austria and other officials brought to him a good reputation. Franz Xaver Messerschmidt later concentrated on his so-called "character heads". Those realistic busts, which can mostly be considered as self-portraits, capture the many different facets of human emotions.

Height: 38 cm
Width: 27 cm
Depth: 20 cm
Weight: 6.7 kg
100% bronze