Joseph Csaky (Hungarian 1888-1971)
Csáky was a native of Hungary and as one of the first artists to apply Cubist principles to sculpture became a dedicated member of the Parisian avant-garde.
He studied in the School of Decorative Arts in Budapest, but left prematurely as he was unhappy with the rigid classicism of the teaching. In 1908 he went to Paris where his artistic style underwent fundamental changes. Initially inspired by Rodin's post romantic lyric style, he was later influenced by Maillol's more rigorous and sensual approach. Under the influence of the Cubists, he produced a substantial body of work comparable in quality to that of Brancusi and Archipenko. His Tête Cubiste of 1911 coincides with Picasso's first cubist sculpture.
After having fought in the French Army during the First World War, Csáky's researches into he human figure through cubist form, lead him to Abstraction in 1919. Around 1928 he returned to a more realistic style of sculpture, humanising his representations through the ample and subtle forms that evoke the works of Aristide Maillol.
Bibliography
Joseph Csaky: A Pioneer of Modern Sculpture (Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society), Philadelphia, 1999. Edited by Edith BALAS.
MARCHILAC, Felix, Joseph Csaky : Du cubisme historique à la figuration réaliste, Paris, 2007
Solo Exhibitions
1973, CSAKY, Galerie Dép15, Paris
1977, Trois sculpteurs des années 30: Gargallo, Lambert-Rucki, Csaky, Musée Bourdelle, Paris
1979, Joseph Csaky, Feingarten Galleries, Los Angeles
1980, Formes Humaines - Hommage a Csaky, Musée Rodin, Paris
1986, Csáky: Sculptures Dessins, Musée d'Art Moderne Troyes, Troyes
1988-89, Les années U.A.M., Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris
Group Exhibitions
1910-1911, Salon de la Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Paris
1911,1912, 1946, 1947, 1949, Salon d'Automne, Paris
1913, 1914, 1920, 1923, Salon de la Société des Artistes Indépendants, Paris
1924, Salon des Artistes Décorateurs, Paris
1928, 1929, Salon des Tuileries, Paris
1930, 1931, 1932, 1937, 1955, Exposition de l'Union des Artistes Modernes, Paris
1921, Les madu Cubisme, Galerie Léonce Rosenberg, Paris
1999, Montparnasse - L'Europe des Artiste, 1915-1945, Museo Archeologico Regionale d'Aosta, Italy