This book examines a famous series of sculptures by the German artist Franz Xaver Messerschmidt (17361783) known as his "Character Heads." These are busts of human heads, highly unconventional for their time, representing strange, often inexplicable facial expressions. Scholars have struggled to explain these works of art. Some have said that Messerschmidt was insane, while others suggested that he tried to illustrate some sort of intellectual system. Michael Yonan argues that these sculptures are simultaneously explorations of arts power and also critiques of the aesthetic limits that would be placed on that power.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Part I: Writing the Artists Mind
Introduction to Part I
Chapter 1: Nicolais Dreamer
Chapter 2: Kriss Psychotic
Part II: Writing the Artists Context
Introduction to Part II
Chaper 3: Mesmers Acolyte
Chapter 4: Lichtenbergs Ally
Part III: Writing the Artists Project
Introduction to Part III
Chapter 5: The Game of Making
Chapter 6: The Envy of the Gods
Conclusion
Michael Yonan is associate professor of art history at the University of MissouriColumbia, USA. He is a specialist in eighteenth-century European art and material culture.
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