Charles Malfray (19 July 1887,

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

) was a French

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

. Born the son of an Orléans stonemason he was a student of the École des Beaux-Arts d'Orléans. At seventeen, he attended the School of Decorative Arts in Paris and the

École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts The Beaux-Arts de Paris is a French ''grande école'' whose primary mission is to provide high-level arts education and training. This is classical and historical School of Fine Arts in France. The art school, which is part of the Paris Scienc ...

. He however rejected the academic teaching of the college and became attracted by the art of the Montmartre-based Auguste Rodin and Antoine Bourdelle. Malfray survived the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

after being gassed and taking part in the

Battle of Verdun The Battle of Verdun (french: Bataille de Verdun ; german: Schlacht um Verdun ) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front in France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north ...

, but was deeply affected by his experiences. Together with his brother, he created war memorials to the dead of Pithiviers (1920) and Orleans (1924),Galerie-malaquais.com
Retrieved June 4, 2009 whose modernism was highly debated. In 1920 he was awarded the

Prix Blumenthal The Prix Blumenthal (or ''Blumenthal Prize'') was a grant or stipend awarded through the philanthropy of Florence Meyer Blumenthal (1875–1930) – and the foundation she created, ''Fondation franco-américaine Florence Blumenthal (Franco-Amer ...

, but due to being ill as a result of the war, he almost gave up sculpture. However, in 1931, his friend

Aristide Maillol Aristide Joseph Bonaventure Maillol (; December 8, 1861 – September 27, 1944) was a French Sculpture, sculptor, Painting, painter, and printmaking, printmaker.Le Normand-Romain, Antoinette . "Maillol, Aristide". ''Grove Art Online. Oxford ...

appointed him his successor as professor at the

Académie Ranson The Académie Ranson was founded in Paris by the French painter Paul Ranson (1862–1909), who himself studied at the Académie Julian, in 1908.

in Paris. During the following years, Malfray had many students in his workshop, including Étienne Martin, François Stahly,

Nessa Cohen Nessa Cohen, born Helen Nessa Cohen, (December 11, 1885 - December 1976) was an American sculptor, born in New York City. She exhibited in the 1913 International Exhibition of Modern Art. Early life Cohen was born on December 11, 1884 in New Yo ...

, and Jean Le Moal. He died in 1940. A street in Orléans was named Rue Charles Malfray.

Main works

* Lyon, Musée des Beaux-Arts, ''Torse de nageuse'' * Orléans, Musée des Beaux-Arts, ''La Danse'' (bronze), ''Femme assise'' (bronze), ''Le Baiser'' (plaster), ''La Beauce'' (plaster), ''Torse de baigneuse'' (plaster), ''Homme marchant avec une besace'' (plaster), ''Torse de femme'' (plaster), ''Deux baigneuses'' (plaster), ''La Danse'' (plaster) * Paris, Musée d'art moderne, ''La Danse'', 1939

Bibliography

* Jacques de Laprade, ''Charles Malfray, dessins et sculptures'', Mourlot, Paris, 1945 * ''Charles Malfray'', André Chamson, Paris, Petit Palais, 1947 * ''Charles Malfray'', Waldemar George, Paris, Musée Rodin, 1966 * ''Hommage à Charles Malfray'', Orléans, Musée des Beaux-Arts, 1967

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Malfray, Charles 1887 births 1940 deaths Artists from Orléans École des Beaux-Arts alumni Prix Blumenthal 20th-century French sculptors French male sculptors