Yawner Man Yawning with Mouth Open Portrait Bust by Messerschmidt, Assorted Sizes

A Face Caught Mid-Yawn: The Messerschmidt Yawner Bust

This Messerschmidt Yawner bust captures a man with a furrowed brow and a wide open mouth. It comes in two sizes in resin with a silver patina.

Franz Xaver Messerschmidt carved the original as one of his famous character heads. The yawning face shows his talent for capturing a human gesture.

Product Details

• Material: Resin with silver patina
• Medium size: 7.5 in H x 4.25 in W x 4 in L, 3.5 lbs. Gift box not included (ME01)
• Miniature pocket art size: 3.75 in H x 2 in W x 2.25 in D, 11 oz. Gift box included (PA14ME)
• Collection: Parastone Mouseion 3D Collection
• Product number: ME01, PA14ME

Faces Without Names

Messerschmidt left behind dozens of character heads in alabaster and metal. He never named them himself and called them simply heads.

The names we use today come from an anonymous publication about ten years after his death. Each Messerschmidt character head is a study of mood.

A Sculptor Who Studied His Own Face

According to the Neue Galerie, he studied his own face in a mirror and contorted his features. He then rendered the distorted expressions in sculpture.

The Yawner is dated 1771 to 1783. A tin cast of it is in the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest. This silver patina head sculpture follows that metal original.

A man yawning portrait bust is an unusual subject for the 1700s, when portraits showed dignity. Explore the Messerschmidt Collection, our Museum Statues Collection, and Parastone Museum Replicas.

Display and Care

The medium Messerschmidt Yawner bust weighs 3.5 lbs and needs a firm shelf. The silver patina head sculpture is best dusted with a soft dry brush. Keep it away from damp air.

Franz Xaver Messerschmidt in Brief

Messerschmidt lived from 1736 to 1783 and was born in Wiesensteig in the Swabian Alps. He learned sculpture in Munich from his uncle Johann Baptist Straub, then studied in Vienna.

After a study trip to Rome in 1765, he worked in a Classicist style. He later withdrew to his character heads, and the Messerschmidt Yawner bust is one of them.

For More Reading from the Web

• Read the life of the sculptor who turned his own grimaces into art. Franz Xaver Messerschmidt - Wikipedia
• See how the Neue Galerie presented the character heads, including the Yawner. Franz Xaver Messerschmidt 1736-1783: From Neoclassicism to Expressionism - Neue Galerie