The Belvedere Museum in Vienna has finally opened a long-awaited exhibition dedicated to Franz Xaver Messerschmidt (1736-1783), one of the most significant sculptors whose work defines the museum's profile. The exhibition focuses on placing the artist's renowned "character heads" within their proper historical context at the crossroads between the Baroque period and the Enlightenment era.

Museum Director Stella Rollig emphasized that Messerschmidt belongs to those artists who have decisively shaped the Belvedere's identity as a museum. The sculptor's distinctive marble works, particularly his famous grimacing portrait busts, have become synonymous with the institution's artistic legacy and represent some of its most treasured holdings.

This comprehensive exhibition comes after more than 20 years since the last major presentation of Messerschmidt's work, making it long overdue according to art critics and museum visitors alike. The timing is particularly significant given the museum's unparalleled collection of the artist's pieces, which represents the most extensive assemblage of his works anywhere in the world.

The Belvedere houses an impressive total of 26 Messerschmidt works, including four permanent loans, making it the global center for studying and appreciating this unique 18th-century artist. The exhibition aims to showcase not only his legendary "Kopfstücke" (head pieces) but also to provide visitors with a broader understanding of his artistic development and historical significance.

One of the highlighted pieces in the exhibition is "Charakterkopf Nr. 25" (Character Head No. 25), created between 1771 and 1783, which exemplifies Messerschmidt's innovative approach to sculptural portraiture. This work, along with others in the collection, demonstrates the artist's revolutionary technique of capturing extreme facial expressions in marble, a departure from the idealized portraits typical of his era.

The exhibition seeks to contextualize Messerschmidt's work within the broader cultural transformation occurring during the late 18th century, when European art was transitioning from the ornate Baroque style toward the more rational and enlightened artistic approaches that would define the following century.