ATTRIBUTED TO FRANZ XAVER MESSERSCHMIDT (1736-1783)AUSTRIAN, VIENNA, THIRD QUARTER 18TH CENTURY | Pair of busts of a young man and a young woman

the young man inscribed across the proper left side of the forehead: Physiologia, both with museum inventory numbers and labels printed: SAMMLUNG H.E.B. numbered: 445A and B in black ink

probably Ritter Josef Karl von Klinkosch, Vienna
his sale, H.O. Miethke, Vienna, 2-3 April 1889, lot 682;
Emma Budge, Hamburg;
her forced sale, Paul Graupe, Berlin, Die Sammlung Frau Emma Budge, 27-29 September 1937, lot 99;
art market, Berlin, 1941;
acquired by the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg (inv. nos. Pl. O. 2804 and 5);
restituted to the Emma Budge Estate in 2013

88. Jahresbericht des GNM, Nuremberg, 1942, p. 30;
M. Pötzl-Malikova, 'Zur aktuellen Situation in der Messerschmidt-Forschung', Österreichische Zeitschrift für Kunst und Denkmalpflege 57, 2003, p. 260, figs. 301-302;
C. Maué, Die Bildwerke des 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts. Teil 2: Bayern, Österreich, Italien, Spanien, cat. Germanisches Nationalmuseum, pp. 251-254, nos. 210-211

Overall the condition of the heads is good. There is wear and some minor dirt to the surface consistent with age. There is a slightly brownish patina to the surface which has rubbed through to a silvery grey colour at the high points. Due to the softness of the lead there are slight dents, nicks and scratches to the surface throughout. The carved wood bases were constructed in three sections. There are some losses to the lower edge and there is wear and some dirt to the paint throughout.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Pötzl-Malikova placed the present pair of busts amongst the earliest works of the sculptor Franz Xaver Messerschmidt (2003, op.cit. and Maué, op.cit.). The bone structure of the male figure compares well to the male nude in a drawing thought to be an academy project by Messerschmidt in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (inv. no. 47.155.4). The sweet expression of the girl and the precise modelling of the eyes and nose, in turn, are much like the central figure of the Elisäus Fountain from circa 1769. The division of her hair in separate curled strands can be likened to the hair of the young man in particular. The bust of the historian Franz von Scheyb, which Messerschmidt modelled as his admission piece for the Viennese Academy, is truncated in a similar way. A hitherto unnoticed graffiti-like inscription in an old hand above the left eyebrow of the young man which reads: Physiologia, reinforces the idea that Messerschmidt may have made and owned the busts. Before they entered the storied collection of Henry and Emma Budge the busts were the property of Joseph Klinkosch, who owned several of Messerschmidt’s famous character heads as well.

When the Budge collection was catalogued in 1937 these busts were already thought to be Viennese because of the use of lead. Casting lead statues was taken up by Georg Raphael Donner around 1732 and became one of the staples of Viennese Rococo art in the following decades. In addition to Messerschmidt Maué (op.cit.) also sees a likeness to the work of Georg Dorfmeister (1736-1786) who was another lead specialist.

The busts were formerly probably mounted on taller socles and positioned as pendants. Weinkopf (see Maué, op.cit., pp. 253-254, n. 17-18) mentions two pairs of an idealised man and a woman in Vienna in the Hofbibliothek and the Academy in Vienna and another is listed in the inventory of Matthäus Donner, Georg Raphael’s brother.