INTRODUCTION
Franz Xaver Messerschmidt was born into a family of artists in Bavaria. After apprenticeships with two sculptor uncles, he enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna in 1755. Employed at the Arsenal, he learned the arts of metal founding and chasing and received a commission for bronze busts of the imperial couple. In 1765, he went on a short study trip to Rome. On his return to Vienna, he established himself as a highly regarded court artist and portraitist of intellectuals. In 1769, he was admitted to the Academy of Fine Arts as an associate professor.
Around 1771 his mental health deteriorated and he began sculpting expressive heads in private. In 1774, his application for a full-time teaching post was rejected, with his hostility towards the Academy and psychological problems given as pretext. Deeply wounded by this, he left Vienna, taking his first five metal heads with him. Following a stay in Bavaria, where he attempted to establish himself as a sculptor at the court in Munich, in 1777 he settled in Pressburg (modern-day Bratislava, capital of Slovakia), seat of the government of the Kingdom of Hungary. Pursuing a career as a traditional portraitist specializing in small alabaster medallions, Messerschmidt further expressed his inner turmoil by adding to the series of male heads posthumously called “character heads.”
Around 1771 his mental health deteriorated and he began sculpting expressive heads in private. In 1774, his application for a full-time teaching post was rejected, with his hostility towards the Academy and psychological problems given as pretext. Deeply wounded by this, he left Vienna, taking his first five metal heads with him. Following a stay in Bavaria, where he attempted to establish himself as a sculptor at the court in Munich, in 1777 he settled in Pressburg (modern-day Bratislava, capital of Slovakia), seat of the government of the Kingdom of Hungary. Pursuing a career as a traditional portraitist specializing in small alabaster medallions, Messerschmidt further expressed his inner turmoil by adding to the series of male heads posthumously called “character heads.”