DIE CHARAKTERKOEPFE F. X. MESSERSCHMIDTS UND IHR ERSTER AUSSTELLER FRANZ STRUNZ

The paper discloses new facts about the initial period of reception of the well-known character heads, today titled as study heads, by sculptor Franz Xaver Messerschmidt. Their first owner was in the years 1792 – 1805 hitherto almost unknown Franz Strunz, the first exhibitor and the author and publisher of the first catalogue. F. Strunz was an enthusiast and supporter of the ideals of the Enlightenment, who bought the 49 busts from the artist's brother in Bratislava in ca. 1972. The latest research shows that for more than ten years they remained in custody of this man, whose name hasn’t been known to us with certainty for 220 years. This paper presents the results of several years of research of the author: a few essentially new facts and several new hypotheses as well.