A Hypocrite and a Slanderer

myminifactory

The expression on this man's face is open to interpretation, but by viewing it from below, the knitted brows, tight, thin lips, and carefully arranged grooves around the mouth become visible. One of nearly seventy headpieces or Kopfstucke created after Messerschmidt's retirement from the Viennese court features this unique countenance. By combining realism with caricature, Messerschmidt explored the shapes and expressions of heads and faces, linking them to different human characters and mental states. Having suffered from mental illness himself, Messerschmidt may have sculpted these heads as a way to ward off invading spirits in his mind. Others believed that they were all "very much his own likeness." This particular piece was titled "A Hypocrite and a Slanderer" after the artist's death, leaving what Messerschmidt intended a matter of ongoing speculation.