Smirking, dim-witted, grimacing, or disgusted--that is how the character studies that Franz Xaver Messerschmidt cast in lead or cut into alabaster appear to viewers. They are sculptures that do not adhere to any classical ideal of beauty, instead confronting the viewer with a typology of the ugly. The fascinating character busts by the baroque sculptor Messerschmidt may be indebted to his contemporary Johann Kaspar Lavater, yet they never cease to amaze with their untimely artistic aggressiveness--their modernism even- ...
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Smirking, dim-witted, grimacing, or disgusted--that is how the character studies that Franz Xaver Messerschmidt cast in lead or cut into alabaster appear to viewers. They are sculptures that do not adhere to any classical ideal of beauty, instead confronting the viewer with a typology of the ugly. The fascinating character busts by the baroque sculptor Messerschmidt may be indebted to his contemporary Johann Kaspar Lavater, yet they never cease to amaze with their untimely artistic aggressiveness--their modernism even--exposing the flip sides of human expression. Messerschmidt, who created conventional portraits of dignitaries such as Empress Maria Theresia and Joseph II while working at the Imperial Academy in Vienna, began his turn toward an exclusive production of character busts around 1770, a predilection that quickly gained him the reputation of a maverick. Having taken early retirement due to a psychological disorder that was never clearly defined, he spent the rest of his life as a recluse living in Pressburg. This extensive monograph about an exceptional artist attempts an interpretation of the deeper meaning in an oeuvre that is as unusual as it is uncompromising.
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Add this copy of Franz Xaver Messerschmidt, 1736-1783 to cart. $77.75, good condition, Sold by BARNABY rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Oxford, OXFORDSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2003 by Hatje Cantz.
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Seller's Description:
Good Condition. With 172 illustrations, 61 in colour. Dust jacket is fully intact. Clean and fresh contents mostly. A good used copy without significant flaws. Publisher's note: "Messerschmidt, who created conventional portraits of dignitaries such as Empress Maria Theresa and Joseph II while working at the Imperial Academy in Vienna, began to turn exclusively to character heads in around 1770, a fact that quickly gained him the reputation of a maverick. This extensive monograph about an exceptional artist attempts an interpretation of the "deeper meaning" in an oeuvre which is as unusual as it is uncompromising."--Jacket. Size: 30 x 24 x 2.6 cm. 229 pp. Shipped Weight: 1-2 kilos. Category: Sculpture & Ceramics; Exhibition catalogs; Exhibition catalogues; Messerschmidt, Franz Xaver, 1736? -1783; ISBN: 3775712461. ISBN/EAN: 9783775712460. Add. Inventory No: 250110LFY0445213.
Add this copy of Franz Xaver Messerschmidt to cart. $84.75, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 2003 by Hatje Cantz.
Add this copy of Franz Xaver Messerschmidt to cart. $140.30, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2003 by Hatje Cantz Publishers.