Gergely Barki

Known and Unknown Hungarians: Early Hungarian Cubist Idioms

The text discusses the development and influence of Cubism among Hungarian artists in the early twentieth century, highlighting the complexities and challenges in studying this artistic movement within Hungary. While Fauvism had a notable impact in Hungary, with Hungarian artists actively participating in the Fauve movement in France, Cubism’s influence was less pervasive, despite a significant number of Hungarian artists joining the movement in Paris. The research into Hungarian Cubism is still in its early stages, hampered by the loss and destruction of many artworks from this period. The author emphasizes the need to locate and study these lost works to gain a fuller understanding of Hungarian Cubism. Key Hungarian artists, such as Vilmos Perlrott Csaba and Róbert Berény are discussed in detail, however, their works tended to reflect a superficial or idiosyncratic interpretation of Cubism, influenced by other styles such as Fauvism, Primitivism, and Orphism. The text also highlights the formation of the Hungarian avant-garde group ‘The Eight’. Though not themselves true Cubists, they incorporated Cubist elements into their work. The author emphasizes the importance of the Hungarian cubist diaspora in Paris, which was not previously noticed in the literature. Since Joseph Csáky, Alfred Réth and Gustave Miklós became French artists, they are more or less considered in international art history writing, but their peers (Imre Szobotka, István Farkas, Elemér Kóródy, Árpád Késmárky, Sándor Bánszky, etc.), remained almost completely unknown. These artists were exposed to Cubism through their experiences in Paris, particularly through interactions with figures like Picasso and most of all Jean Metzinger the professor at the Académie La Palette and their participation in exhibitions such as the Salon des Indépendants. Several artists of the Hungarian cubist diaspora in Paris played a significant role in the export of cubism to the USA almost at the same time as the Armory Show. This is one of the most important chapters of the latest research. Despite the international recognition some Hungarian artists received, their contributions to Cubism have largely been overlooked, both in Hungary and abroad.

Author's email:

barkigergely@icloud.com

DOI: HTTPS://DOI.ORG/10.54759/ART-2024-0305

Full-text in the Digital Library of the Czech Academy of Sciences:
https://kramerius.lib.cas.cz/uuid/uuid:c80da607-506f-4189-a41c-438f5f369cb6

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