Vexed Man with Sour Expression Caricature Study Statue by Messerschmidt, Assorted Sizes

A Scowl Carved in Alabaster: The Messerschmidt Vexed Man Bust

This Messerschmidt Vexed Man bust captures a grimace so lifelike you can almost hear the grumble. It comes in two sizes in resin, 7.25 in and 3.75 in high.

It is based on a Character Head by Franz Xaver Messerschmidt, an 18th century German sculptor active in Austria. The man's expression falls somewhere between a grimace and a scowl.

Product Details

• Material: Resin
• Large: 7.25 in H x 5 in W x 5 in D, 5.6 lbs
• Small: 3 3/4 in H x 2.5 in W x 2 in D, 1 lb
• Includes: Color description card
• Collection: Parastone Museum Collection (Mouseion 3D)
• Style: Grimacing man bust
• Product number: ME04, PA22ME

Reading the Face

The brow is furrowed above squinting eyes, and the nose is scrunched. A grimacing man bust like this is rare. Cracks in the alabaster seem to echo the lines of skin.

A receding hairline and sagging jaw contrast with tense cheek and neck muscles. Messerschmidt gave the bust no title, so the mood of this Messerschmidt Vexed Man bust is ours to name. Each Character Heads sculpture invites that.

The Character Heads

Forty-nine Character Heads survive, made from about 1770 until his death. A visitor in 1781 counted 56, and Messerschmidt seems to have planned 66.

The series reflects Enlightenment curiosity about the face and its expressions. Later writers have guessed at illness, though recent scholars doubt such labels.

Messerschmidt told a visitor that he pinched himself to fight a night spirit. That tale sits behind this Enlightenment caricature statue. Find more in our Parastone Museum Replicas.

Display and Care

The small bust suits a desk. The large one needs a firm shelf at 5.6 lbs. Dust either with a soft dry brush. Treat the Character Heads sculpture gently.

Franz Xaver Messerschmidt in Brief

Messerschmidt lived from 1736 to 1783. He studied in Vienna and worked there as an independent sculptor from 1760. He left in 1775 after being passed over for a professorship. The Messerschmidt Vexed Man bust keeps his bold project alive. It is an Enlightenment caricature statue with real depth.

For More Reading from the Web

• Meet the tormented sculptor and his 49 surviving Character Heads in this Apollo article. The Many Faces of Franz Xaver Messerschmidt - Apollo Magazine
• Read the Belvedere's short biography of Messerschmidt and his move from Vienna. Franz Xaver Messerschmidt - Belvedere