The Little Man of Nuremberg

Erik Morse | Paris Review | 17th March 2016

Matthias Buchinger’s story comes from the far periphery of art history. A dwarf without fully formed arms and legs he become a fairground performer of some celebrity. He also had four wives. History remembers him, though, for his talents in drawing and micrography (miniature writing). His dazzling penmanship (for which a magnifying glass is often needed) is currently on display in New York.