Körpererfahrung und Geisteraustreibung

Abstract

Abstract Wearing the features of the artist’s own contorted face, Messerschmidt’s grimacing Head Pieces have been mystifying their viewers for centuries. Most interpreters have regarded them from a purely artistic point of view and tended to certify the sculptor’s serious mental issues. This article takes an interdisciplinary and intermedial approach to Messerschmidt’s busts by paralleling them with the diary records of the physician Senckenberg, which likewise mirror the author’s meticulous self-observation and are consequently perceived with similar irritation. It is shown that the frequent pathologization of both Messerschmidt’s and Senckenberg’s work derives not least from the decidedly non-academic nature of their self-studies, which they felt were impeded by the temptations of daemons jealous of their insight into arcane knowledge. Rather than passing verdicts on the authors’ mental health or the validity of their religious and professional convictions, their motivations are to be considered according to their own early modern world view.