Matthias Buchinger was born on June 2, 1674... without arms or legs!
While this malformation seemed to foretell a difficult life, Matthias turned out to be an incredible artist with many talents... including magic!
Admire this portrait ... which is actually a self-portrait! Matthias Buchinger was a talented draughtsman, and above all a calligrapher! This portrait hides a secret: if you zoom in on the hair, you'll discover that it's actually formed from sentences!
In addition to his talent for micro-calligraphy (without arms or legs, remember!), Matthias Buchinger was an accomplished musician, mastering no less than half a dozen instruments, and above all... a magician!
An engraving depicts him in all the arts he seems to have mastered (from model-making to shooting). One of the vignettes (bottom left) shows him as a magician, in front of a set of goblets.
He died at an unknown date (late 1730s). The renowned Ricky Jay took a keen interest in Matthias Buchinger's exceptional life and collected numerous documents. He wrote Matthias Buchinger: 'The Greatest German Living'.
Illustration credits
- First illustration from Wikipedia, public domain.
- Second illustration from the Wellcome Library, London. Under CC BY 4.0 license