Editing Franz Xaver Messerschmidt (section)

== Character heads (''Charakterköpfe'' ) ==
{{anchor|Character heads}}
[[File:Matthias Rudolph Toma Messerschmidts Character Heads 1839.jpg|thumb|300px|Lithograph by [[Matthias Rudolph Toma]] depicting Messerschmidt's “Character Heads” (1839)]]
In 1781, German author [[Christoph Friedrich Nicolai|Friedrich Nicolai]]—known for his polemicist and satirical approach—visited Messerschmidt at his studio in Pressburg and subsequently published a transcript of their conversation. Nicolai's account of the meeting is a valuable resource, as it is the only contemporary document that details Messerschmidt's reasoning behind the execution of his character heads. Messerschmidt devised a series of pinches he administered to his right [[Floating rib|lower rib]]. Observing the resulting facial expressions in a mirror, Messerschmidt then set about recording them in marble and bronze. His intention, he told Nicolai, was to represent the [[Physiognomy|64 "canonical grimaces"]] of the human face using himself as a template.

During the course of the discussion, Messerschmidt went on to explain his interest in [[necromancy]] and the [[wikt:arcane|arcane]]—not at all alien to Nicolai—and how this also inspired his character heads. Messerschmidt was a keen disciple of [[Hermes Trismegistus]] (Nicolai noted that among the few possessions that littered Messerschmidt's workshop was a copy of an illustration featuring Trismegistus) and abided by his teachings regarding the pursuit of "universal balance": a forerunner to the principles of the [[Golden ratio]]. As a result, Messerschmidt claimed that his character heads had aroused the anger of "the Spirit of Proportion", an ancient being who safeguarded this knowledge. The spirit visited him at night, and forced him to endure humiliating tortures. One of Messerschmidt's most famous heads (''The Beaked''[https://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/m/messersc/c_head5.html]) was apparently inspired by one of these encounters.

<gallery perrow="4">
File:Emotions X.jpg|''The Laughter Kept Back''
File:Emotions III.jpg|''A Grievously Wounded Man''
File:Franz xaver messerschmidt, il satirico, testa caricaturata n. 26, 1770-80 ca..JPG|''The Satirist''
File:Messerschmidt, Yawning.jpg|''The Yawner''
File:Franz Xaver Messerschmidt 003.JPG|''A Hypocrite and Slanderer''
File:Franz Xaver Messerschmidt Charakterkopf.jpg|''The Ultimate Simpleton''
File:Franz xaver messerschmidt, il costipato, testa caricaturata n. 30, 1770-80 ca..JPG|''Afflicted with Constipation''
File:Franz Xaver Messerschmidt - Charakterkopf 02.jpg|''An Intentional Wag''
</gallery>