Purpose:  

At the end of the year 2002 a major exhibit about Franz Xaver Messerschmidt was held at the prestigious
Oesterreichische Gallerie in the Lower Belvedere Baroque Museum in Vienna, Austria.
Some time after this show an English volume emerged: Franz Xaver Messerschmidt,
by Michael Krapf, Maraike Buckling. a beautifully photographed production in hard cover available in German or English.

Very little other scholarly material has been written in English about this remarkable artist and his time. 
Herbert A. Ranharter, Berkeley, CA, has translated the definitive book about Franz Xaver Messerschmidt
by Prof. Maria Poetzl Malikova:  Franz Xaver Messerschmidt,Verlag Jugend and Volk, Wien Muenchen, 1982 into English.
 
 

These pages are posted to raise awareness in the English speaking world and to seek a publisher for this book.  The translation is finished in draft and was done in cooperation with the original author, Frau Professor Maria Poetzl Malikova of the University of Bratislava.  Since the original publication, she has augmented the content with two new chapters about recent discoveries, including the newly found head of Franz Mesmer (1734-1815), the Viennese psychiatrist who brought forth the theory of "animal magnetism," and the recent discovery of the inventory lists of the artist's studio that were meticulously recorded after the sudden death of the artist in 1784.

Messerschmidt Book options map:

______________________________Original Book cover

______________________________Curriculum Vitae of the author Frau Professor Maria Poetzl Malikova

______________________________Curriculum Vitae of the translator Herb Ranharter

______________________________Sample Pages and statistics of the German publication

______________________________Sample Pages of the English translation
 
 

Introduction:

Strolling through the galleries of the Lower Belvedere in Vienna, Austria amidst much art history, you chance upon some remarkable sculptures:  heads of stone, bronze and wood made by Franz Xaver Messerschmidt. You are faced with sculpture that screams at you through time and perception. The passion screams with an immortal voice, free and alive in spite of the confines of being eternally frozen. The works are not simply content to stun with superior craftsmanship; they transcend the limits of stone, bronze and wood, blowing the envelope off the boundaries of convention and of time itself. The works were outrageous in their time; they are outrageous still.  They are the agonies and ecstasies of Franz Xaver Messerschmidt (FXM).

Perspective:

A fine artist must be in the lead of a discipline, yet must appeal to an audience that doesn't have an appreciation of the struggles involved. The clients want a finished product which they expect will compete successfully against all of art history, the collective and cumulative result of ten thousand plus years of creativity on this planet. Nothing less will do. Not knowing the difference between art and art history, the clients want to buy a piece of art history, an investment for which they expect to pay little money. No allowance is made for experimentation, no sympathy for the pain, no allotment for the intermediate work that failed, no appreciation for the countless hours spent in attaining control over the processes. They want instant gratification, now, off the shelf.  Many artists succumb and compromise; they end up producing the kitsch that brings the money. This may well have been a major facet of FXM's struggle.

The passions of FXM, his anger and frustration, are as contemporary and as valid today as they were in his time. Any artist whose love of art exceeds a passion for money will know what I am talking about and will symphathise with FXM's dilemma. Artistic integrity pinned against the necessity to earn money:  which side can anyone afford to be on?  How far must convictions be compromised?  FXM knew who he wanted to be and his choices got him into trouble, his very nature dictated them.  His stunning skills and stellar success colided with his passions, leading to a multifaceted powerplay of politics and economics, even involving his health.  The outcome was a turning point in his career that became the subject of many possible interpretations, a detective story with profound philosophical implications.
 

Observations and Speculation:

A significant obstacle to FXM's career may well have been his love for art and perhaps his desire for truth. FXM had earned a faculty position at Vienna's Academy of Arts through his remarkable abilities. Yet the Academy did not keep it's promise because of FXM's refusal to conform.  Messerschmidt's behavior became a threat to the Academy's politics. The Academy maintained it's power base by catering to the wishes of the aristocracy, which in turn rewarded the Academy with contracts and commissions. To deviate from the Academy's practices as a member of the faculty was political suicide.

Mozart's struggle against the Viennese music establishment, as portrayed in  Amadeus by Peter Shaffer, is a direct parallel to FXM's struggle against the visual arts establishment.  Mozart's masterpieces "Le Nozze Di Figaro" and "Don Giovanni" are revolutionary attacks against the unbridled powers of the aristocracy and institutions and as such, encountered strong opposition in Vienna.  These stuggles reflected a new order in the offing. The distribution of contracts for sculpture was in the hands of Academy functionaries and so was the fate of the faculty.  FXM was not a "politically correct" staff member with any aspect of his being. He would speak his mind in critique and refused to conform to established art conventions. He made many enemies among his peers and among the administration.

His refusal to conform resulted in increased economic pressures.  When he finally was able to set up his own studio, the economic rug was pulled out from under him by denying him the contracts he needed more than ever.  Unbearable economic and political pressures may well have resulted in a near or mild brain stroke that shattered his career into fragments.  There is speculation that he may have suffered lead poisoning in the course of doing his work; it only is certain that he fell ill. If the lead poisoning story is true, the condition surely served as an excellent opportunity to rationalize the Academy's stand against him. The illness was harnessed by the political powers about him to obliterate him.   Rumors were spread of his insanity, citing his sculptures and his general behavior as evidence. The image they conjured up was used to deny him his promotion in the Academy.  In the wake of these accusations the commissions from royalty and wealthy clients dried up further; Viennese high society was close knit and in fear of rebellion. Messerschmidt never quite recuperated from his defeat in Vienna.
 
 

             

Conclusion:

FXM's struggle is timeless and fundamental; it still manifests itself vividly and relentlessly today. The academic art industry suffers a dearth of money and much of what is available comes from donations. Money not earned is the political capital of the successful fund raisers.  Fierce power plays among the functionaries of the art institutions are commonplace. Few in such a settings dare to speak their mind; criticism is the supreme threat to officials and affiliate artists alike.  Order in the ranks is maintained by channeling funds so as to preserve the status quo. What was true in the days of FXM is true today: one might break the establishment and oneself, but will reform neither.
 

Herbert A. Ranharter

P.S.: "Nihil sub sole novum est"

"The dreamers ride against the men of action" (Leonard Cohen), against the party line, against all convention. When Akenaten committed such heresy in ancient Egypt some 4000 years ago he was ousted and retroactively erased, fiercely scraped away. History shows many such examples.  It took the Vienna Secession movement in 1900 to put a major dent into the Vienna Academy and still, to this day, it is an elite institution of significant political clout.

 © 2006 Herb Ranharter,  All rights reserved,  All web rights reserved
 

Notes:

Lower Belvedere (Unteres Belvedere)
Museum of Medieval Art and Baroque Museum, 3rd district,
Rennweg 6a
Tram 71: Unteres Belvedere

The Baroque Museum contains the world’s most comprehensive
collection of works by Maulbertsch, Messerschmidt and Donner
(among them, the original statues from the Donner Fountain on
Neuer Markt). The Museum of Medieval Austrian Art in the
Orangery of the Lower Belvedere features Romanesque and Gothic
wood sculptures and altar panels, among them works by Pacher
and Frueauf.

Franz Xaver Messerschmidt:

a brief chronology

1736         6th of February: baptized in Wiesensteig, Oberamt Geislingen, Württemberg, Germany; family of tanners; one of 32 siblings.

1746         7th of January: death of the father, removal to Munich. Apprenticeship at his uncle's Johann Baptist Straub (1704-1784), sculptor at the court.

~ 1752     Apprenticeship at his uncle Philipp Jakob Straub (1706-1774), sculptor at the court of Graz.

~ 1754     Moves to Vienna.

1755         4th of November: student at the Vienna Academy of Arts, Jakob Schletterer.

1759-70    Martin van Meytens, Director of the Academy, furthers Messerschmidt.

1760-        Works for the royal court and high nobility, mostly portraits

1765         Stay in Rome

1769         22th of February: joins the Academy of Arts. -
                  2nd of March: joins the Academy of copperplate engravers (cf. opinions, Behr)
                - 10th of September: nomination as a substitute professor with a right to succeed Schletterer.
                - Transition to classicism.

1770         March: buys a house and sets up studio at Ungargasse 5, neighbor of Mesmer. - 23rd of March Martin van Meytens dies. - Starts work on the heads.

1774         1st of March: sells the house and most of his art works. - 19th of May Schletterer dies.  Messerschmidt's right of succession is passed over.

1775         5th of May: passport, travels to Munich and Wiesensteig, settles at Munich.

1777         August: moves to Preßburg/Bratislava, lives at his brother's, Johann Adam.- Works for citizens and the court.

1780         29th of December: buys a house in Preßburg's suburbia.

1783         August: death after short illness. Leaves 69 portrait heads.