Messerschmidt, Franz Xaver#
b. Wiesensteig (Germany), Feb. 6, 1736, d. Bratislava, Slovakia (then Pressburg), Aug. 19, 1783, sculptor. Studied in Munich under his uncle J. B. Straub and in Graz under P. J. Straub, 1752 in Vienna under J. C. Schletterer and M. Donner; 1769-1774 professor at the Vienna Academy, lived in Bratislava from 1777. At the beginning of the 1770s mental disorder, later he created the famous "character heads". According to G. R. Donner M. is the most important Austrian sculptor between Baroque and Classicism. His statues, portrait busts and character heads combine baroque expressive movement with classical clear forms and aggressive characterization with prosaic reproduction
Works#
Statues of Maria Theresia and Franz I. for the Court Gallery in the Stallburg (1765/66, in the Austrian Baroque Museum, Vienna); facade sculpture of the Savoysche Damenstift, Vienna, 1767; bust of van Swieten, 1769; character heads (1770-1783, Austrian Baroque Museum, Historisches Museum der Stadt Wien).Literature#
M. Poetzl-Malikova, F. X. M., 1982 (with index of works); NDB.