A
RARE alabaster bust by celebrated Austrian sculptor, Franz Xaver
Messerschmidt (1736-1783) which has been unseen by the public
since the 19th century, will make its first ever appearance
at auction, when it is offered as the highlight of Sotheby’s
European Sculpture & Works of Art 900-1900 sale on Friday,
July 8, 2005.

The bust, later known as Rescued from Drowning, is from the
sculptor’s legendary limited series of extraordinary self-portrait
character heads, produced by the sculptor during the 1770s.
The Messerschmidt heads, created in lead, tin alloy, wood and
alabaster, were first exhibited as a group in the Vienna exhibition
of 1793. Rescued from Drowning was number 29 in the series and
is the only original in alabaster believed to be located outside
Austria. Of the other alabasters from the 1793 exhibition, two
are missing, 10 are in the Österreichische Galerie, Vienna,
one is in the Historisches Museum der Stadt Wien and two formerly
in the Sitte Collection in Vienna, are believed to be in private
collections in Austria.

Two non-alabaster busts from the series were sold at Sotheby’s
New York in January 2005 – one in lead, entitled Ill Humoured
Man, was purchased by the Louvre, Paris, for $4,832,000 (£2,564,756)
– a record price for a work by Messerschmidt at auction and
a world auction record for an 18th century sculpture. A second
bust in tin alloy, entitled Incapable Bassoonist, sold for $2,480,000
(£1,316,348) against an estimate of $150,000-200,000.
The rare alabaster version in Sotheby’s sale is estimated to
fetch £600,000-800,000*.

Alexander Kader, Head of Sotheby’s Sculpture & Works of
Art department in London, said: "The fact that this is
the first time an alabaster head from the series has ever come
to auction and it is the first time that this piece has been
seen since the dispersal of the set at the end of the 19th century,
makes this work incredibly rare – we therefore anticipate huge
interest. This is a fantastic opportunity to acquire an exceptional
and rare work from a revolutionary group of 18th century sculpture.
The Messerschmidt character heads series set a precedent for
self inquiry in art and has been a huge influence on contemporary
art ever since. The intensity of emotion that is encapsulated
in each head, offers direct and personal impact, which is interpreted
differently by each individual and is therefore as engaging
to an audience today, as it was when first created."

Franz Xaver Messerschmidt was one of the most progressive and
remarkable artists of his time. Born near Ulm in Swabia in 1736,
he descended from a long line of Bavarian sculptors and originally
trained under his uncle, Johann Baptist Straub, sculptor to
the court in Munich. In 1755, following the completion of his
apprenticeship, he moved to Vienna to attend the Imperial Academy
of Arts. An initial appointment to the Imperial Arsenal, to
chisel the decorative elements on canons, led to his first private
commission, which was for the Arsenal State Rooms. He was asked
to produce a gilt bronze bust of the Empress Maria Theresa and
her consort Francis I of Lorraine and reliefs of their son,
later the Habsburg Emperor Joseph II, and his wife Maria Isabella
of Parma. Further religious, portrait and allegorical sculpture
followed, all in the Baroque taste.

A trip to Rome in 1765 influenced him greatly and in 1769 Messerschmidt
produced his first neo-classical portrait, a lead bust of the
art critic Franz von Scheyb (currently in the Historisches Museum,
Vienna), which is now considered to be the first neo-classical
portrait sculpture in Austria. Messerschmidt submitted the von
Scheyb bust as his admission piece to the illustrious Imperial
Academy and it marked the beginning of a new direction in his
oeuvre. He soon gained greater recognition and was appointed
Deputy of Sculpture at the Academy.

From 1765 Messerschmidt lodged in the home of physician and
spiritual healer Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815), from whom the
word ‘mesmerised’ derives. Mesmer was involved in hypnotic cures
to relieve patients of their often psychologically-induced disorders.
His methods inspired Messerschmidt to explore ideas about the
human psyche, and in 1770 he began the character heads series.
The impetus for him focusing all his energy on the series undoubtedly
came when he was passed over as head of the Imperial Academy
in 1774, at a time when his behaviour was supposedly becoming
more and more eccentric. The Academicians granted him a stipend
and Messerschmidt left Vienna.

Free from the constraints of the court and court patronage
and disillusioned with society, he settled in Pressburg (now
Bratislava) in 1776. Here Messerschmidt was to devote the rest
of his life, with the exception of a few commissions, to his
beloved heads. Using himself as the model, he is recorded as
having spent hours in front of the mirror pulling and stretching
his face to create different shapes and expressions, to the
point of obsession. Indeed, the gallery owner Christian von
Mechl noted in 1780 that: "Perpetual grimacing had ravaged
his features." It was his own convulsive features that
Messerschmidt captured so brilliantly in a range of materials.
His bizarre behaviour resulted in him living his final years
as a recluse. After his death in 1783, a total of 69 heads were
found in his studio, 49 of which were from the original exhibition
in Vienna.

The rare alabaster bust in Sotheby’s sale shows Messerschmidt’s
face with eyes tightly shut and his mouth and neck so strained,
that the sinews appear to be standing out from his neck. It
is one of only a few in the series with hair, which was thought
to have been Messerschmidt’s way of showing his disdain at the
continued use of wigs in the 18th century, as well as the Baroque
movement, on which he had turned his back. The description of
the work in the original 1793 Vienna exhibition read: ‘The present
bust describes the angst, fear and numbing sensation of someone
who has just been rescued from the water.’ However the description
is very subjective, which was Messerschmidt’s aim – the power
being in the bust’s emotional intensity, which affects each
individual onlooker differently.

The appeal to a modern audience today can be seen by the artists
that Messerschmidt’s works have influenced and continue to influence
today. 1906 saw a photographic series of Messerschmidt’s character
heads by Viennese photographer Joseph Wlha. Other artists include
Egon Schiele (Self Portrait Photographs,1914), Francis Bacon
(Head IV, Screaming Pope,1949, which has been linked to The
Yawner, no.16 in the series), Arnulf Rainer (Overdrawings of
Franz Xaver Messerschmidt, 1975-76), Franz West (Anruf an Arnulf),
Claes Oldenburg (Symbolic Self Portrait with Equals,1969) and
Bruce Nauman (Ten Heads Circle, 1990).

*Estimates do not include buyers premium

For more information visit www.sothebys.com