''Danseuse'', also known as ''Femme à l'éventail'', or ''Femme à la cruche'', is an early

Cubist Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...

, Proto-

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...

sculpture created in 1912 by the Hungarian

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretica ...

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 ...

Joseph Csaky (1888–1971). This black and white photograph from the Csaky family archives shows a frontal view of the original 1912 plaster. ''Danseuse'' was exhibited in Paris at the 1912

Salon d'Automne The Salon d'Automne (; en, Autumn Salon), or Société du Salon d'automne, is an art exhibition held annually in Paris, France. Since 2011, it is held on the Champs-Élysées, between the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais, in mid-October. The ...

(n. 405), an exhibition that provoked a ''

succès de scandale ''Succès de scandale'' (French for "success from scandal") is a term for any artistic work whose success is attributed, in whole or in part, to public controversy surrounding the work. In some cases the controversy causes audiences to seek ou ...

'' and resulted in a xenophobic and anti-modernist quarrel in the French

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...

. The sculpture was then exhibited at the 1914

Salon des Indépendants Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (Pa ...

entitled ''Femme à l'éventail'' (n. 813); and at

Galerie Moos The Maison Moos, later called the Galerie Moos, was an art gallery and auction house founded in 1906 in Geneva by the art dealer Max Moos. The gallery closed in 1976.''Le marché de l'art en Suisse du XIXe siècle à nos jours'' / éd. par Paul-An ...

, Geneva, 1920, entitled ''Femme à la cruche''.Marcilhac, Félix, 2007, ''József Csáky, Du cubisme historique à la figuration réaliste, catalogue raisonné des sculptures'', Les Editions de l'Amateur, Paris

Description

''Danseuse'' is a plaster sculpture carved in a vertical format. The work represents a woman standing or dancing nude with a folded fan in her left hand and her right knee leaning on a vase. The sculpture, known from an early photograph, is executed in a highly

syntax, in opposition to the softness and curvilinearity of

Nabis Nabis ( grc-gre, Νάβις) was the last king of independent Sparta. He was probably a member of the Heracleidae, and he ruled from 207 BC to 192 BC, during the years of the First and Second Macedonian Wars and the eponymous " War against Nab ...

Symbolist Symbolism was a late 19th-century art movement of French and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts seeking to represent absolute truths symbolically through language and metaphorical images, mainly as a reaction against naturalism and realis ...

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

forms.Edith Balas, 1998, ''Joseph Csaky: A Pioneer of Modern Sculpture'', American Philosophical Society
/ref> The figure, at first glance delicate, feminine, wearing a necklace, graceful with a classical allure, is constructed with a series of faceted planar forms that together form a tight cohesive structure. The head, with its stylish coiffure, and the models facial features are simply constructed with only a few surface planes juxtaposed at seemingly right angles. Even the vase, upon close examination, appears treated in geometric terms, its sphericity broken by an angular cut to the right, barely visible in the photograph. The treatment of Csaky's ''Danseuse'', as other works by the artist executed between 1910 and 1913, suggests, as Albert Elsen notes, that Csaky had looked not only at Picasso's earlier painting and sculpture, but also at African tribal masks whose exaggerated features and simplified design accommodated the need to be seen at a distance and to evoke strong feeling. Just as in Csaky's ''

Groupe de femmes ''Groupe de femmes'', also called ''Groupe de trois femmes'', or ''Groupe de trois personnages'', is an early Cubist sculpture created circa 1911 by the Hungarian avant-garde, sculptor, and graphic artist Joseph Csaky (1888–1971). This sculptu ...

'' (1911–12), ''Danseuse'' already showed a new way of representing the human figure, an unwillingness to revert to classical, academic or traditional methods of representation. The complex angular syntax visible in ''Danseuse'' was born out of a growing sense of contemporary dynamism, out of rhythm, balance, harmony and out of the powerful geometric qualities of Egyptian art, African art, early Cycladic art, Gothic art, of

Pierre Puvis de Chavannes Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (14 December 1824 – 24 October 1898) was a French painter known for his mural painting, who came to be known as "the painter for France". He became the co-founder and president of the Société Nationale des Beau ...

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...

Gustave Courbet Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( , , ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and ...

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fr ...

Georges Seurat Georges Pierre Seurat ( , , ; 2 December 1859 – 29 March 1891) was a French post-Impressionist artist. He devised the painting techniques known as chromoluminarism and pointillism and used conté crayon for drawings on paper with a rough su ...

and

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavour to a new and radically d ...

, all of whom Csaky greatly admired.

Salon d'Automne, 1912

The 1912 Automne exhibition, held in Paris at the

Grand Palais The Grand Palais des Champs-Élysées ( en, Great Palace of the Elysian Fields), commonly known as the Grand Palais (English: Great Palace), is a historic site, exhibition hall and museum complex located at the Champs-Élysées in the 8th ...

des Champs-Elysées from 1 October to 8 November resulted in a xenophobe and anti-modernist quarrel in the

National Assembly (France) The National Assembly (french: link=no, italics=set, Assemblée nationale; ) is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are kn ...

. The group of artists now recognized as Cubists, among which several non-French citizens exhibited, were regrouped into the same room: Salle XI. The Cubist room was packed full with spectators, as others waited in line to get in, recalled

Albert Gleizes Albert Gleizes (; 8 December 1881 – 23 June 1953) was a French artist, theoretician, philosopher, a self-proclaimed founder of Cubism and an influence on the School of Paris. Albert Gleizes and Jean Metzinger wrote the first major treatise on ...

.Albert Gleizes, Letter from Gleizes to Bernard Dorival (

Musée National d'Art Moderne The Musée National d'Art Moderne (; "National Museum of Modern Art") is the national museum for modern art of France. It is located in Paris and is housed in the Centre Pompidou in the 4th arrondissement of the city. In 2021 it ranked 10th in t ...

, Paris) in preparation of the 1953 Cubism retrospective. See too Albert Gleizes, ''Genèse du Cubisme'', in ''France'', 15 October 1950. The history of Cubism at the Salon d'Automne comprises an entire chapter. The resistance to both foreigners and avant-garde art was part of a more profound crises: that of defining modern French art in the wake of

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passa ...

centered in Paris. Placed into question was the modern ideology elaborated upon since the late 19th century. What had begun as a question of ''aesthetics'' quickly turned ''political'' during the Cubist exhibition.National Assembly biography
/ref> The critic

Louis Vauxcelles Louis Vauxcelles (born Louis Meyer; 1 January 187021 July 1943) was a French art critic. He is credited with coining the terms '' Fauvism'' (1905) and ''Cubism'' (1908). He used several pseudonyms in various publications: Pinturrichio, Vasari, ...

(in Les Arts..., 1912) was most implicated in the deliberations. On 3 December 1912 the polemic reached the

Chambre des députés Chamber of Deputies (french: Chambre des députés) was a parliamentary body in France in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries: * 1814–1848 during the Bourbon Restoration and the July Monarchy, the Chamber of Deputies was the lower house o ...

and was debated at the French National Assembly.Béatrice Joyeux-Prunel, ''Histoire & Mesure'', no. XXII -1 (2007), Guerre et statistiques, ''L'art de la mesure, Le Salon d'Automne (1903-1914), l'avant-garde, ses étranger et la nation française''
(The Art of Measure: The Salon d'Automne Exhibition (1903-1914), the Avant-Garde, its Foreigners and the French Nation), electronic distribution Caim for Éditions de l'EHESS (in French) The scandal prompted the critic Roger Allard to defend the Cubists in the journal ''La Côte'', pointing out that it wasn't the first time the Salon d'Automne—a venue to promote modern art—came under attack by city officials, the Institute, and members of the Conseil. And it would not be the last either.

Works exhibited in Salle XI, the Cubist room

* Joseph Csaky exhibited the sculptures ''Danseuse'' (''Femme à l'éventail'', or ''Femme à la cruche'') no. 405 (location unknown), ''

'', 1911-1912 (location unknown), ''Portrait de M.S.H.'', no. 91 (location unknown) *

, '' l'Homme au Balcon (Man on a Balcony, Portrait of Dr. Théo Morinaud)'' 1912 (Philadelphia Museum of Art), also exhibited at the

Armory show The 1913 Armory Show, also known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art, was a show organized by the Association of American Painters and Sculptors in 1913. It was the first large exhibition of modern art in America, as well as one of ...

, New York, Chicago, Boston, 1913. *

Jean Metzinger Jean Dominique Antony Metzinger (; 24 June 1883 – 3 November 1956) was a major 20th-century French painter, theorist, writer, critic and poet, who along with Albert Gleizes wrote the first theoretical work on Cubism. His earliest works, from 1 ...

entered three works: '' Dancer in a café'' (entitled ''Danseuse''), ''La Plume Jaune'' (''The Yellow Feather''), ''Femme à l'Éventail'' (Woman with a Fan) (Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York), hung in the decorative arts section inside ''La Maison Cubiste'' (the ''Cubist House''). *

Francis Picabia Francis Picabia (: born Francis-Marie Martinez de Picabia; 22January 1879 – 30November 1953) was a French avant-garde painter, poet and typographist. After experimenting with Impressionism and Pointillism, Picabia became associated with Cubism ...

, 1912, ''La Source'' (''The Spring'') (Museum of Modern Art, New York) *

Fernand Léger Joseph Fernand Henri Léger (; February 4, 1881 – August 17, 1955) was a French painter, sculptor, and filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of cubism (known as " tubism") which he gradually modified into a more figurative, p ...

exhibited ''La Femme en Bleu'' (''Woman in Blue''), 1912 (Kunstmuseum, Basel) and ''Le passage à niveau'' (''The Level Crossing''), 1912 (Fondation Beyeler, Riehen, Switzerland) *

Roger de La Fresnaye Roger de La Fresnaye (; 11 July 1885 – 27 November 1925) was a French Cubist painter. Early years and education La Fresnaye was born in Le Mans where his father, an officer in the French army, was temporarily stationed. The La Fresnayes were ...

, ''Les Baigneuse'' (''The bathers'') 1912 (The National Gallery, Washington) and ''Les joueurs de cartes'' (Card Players) * Henri Le Fauconnier, ''The Huntsman'' (Haags Gemeentemuseum, The Hague, Netherlands) and ''Les Montagnards attaqués par des ours'' (''Mountaineers Attacked by Bears'') 1912 (Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design). *

André Lhote André Lhote (5 July 1885 – 24 January 1962) was a French Cubist painter of figure subjects, portraits, landscapes and still life. He was also active and influential as a teacher and writer on art. Early life and education Lhote was born ...

, ''Le jugement de Paris'', 1912 (Private collection) *

František Kupka František Kupka (23 September 1871 – 24 June 1957), also known as ''Frank Kupka'' or ''François Kupka,'' was a Czech Republic, Czech Painting, painter and graphic artist. He was a pioneer and co-founder of the early phases of the Abstract ...

, ''Amorpha, Fugue à deux couleurs'' (''Fugue in Two Colors''), 1912 (Narodni Galerie, Prague), and ''Amorpha Chromatique Chaude''. *

Alexander Archipenko Alexander Porfyrovych Archipenko (also referred to as Olexandr, Oleksandr, or Aleksandr; uk, Олександр Порфирович Архипенко, Romanized: Olexandr Porfyrovych Arkhypenko; February 25, 1964) was a Ukrainian and American ...

, ''Family Life'', 1912, sculpture *

Amedeo Modigliani Amedeo Clemente Modigliani (, ; 12 July 1884 – 24 January 1920) was an Italian painter and sculptor who worked mainly in France. He is known for portraits and nudes in a modern style characterized by a surreal elongation of faces, necks, and ...

, exhibited four sculptures of elongated and highly stylized heads *

Raymond Duchamp-Villon Raymond Duchamp-Villon (5 November 1876 – 9 October 1918) was a French sculptor. Life and art Duchamp-Villon was born Pierre-Maurice-Raymond Duchamp in Damville, Eure, in the Normandy region of France, the second son of Eugène and Lucie Duch ...

, ''La Maison Cubiste (The Cubist House), Projet d'Hotel, Façade architecturale'', 1912

Salon des Indépendants, 1914

At the Salon des Indépendants, held in Paris 1 to 30 March 1914, composed of many Orphist works of large dimension and took place in one of the largest rooms on the ground floor of the Grand Palais des Champs-Elysées:

Robert Delaunay Robert Delaunay (12 April 1885 – 25 October 1941) was a French artist who, with his wife Sonia Delaunay and others, co-founded the Orphism art movement, noted for its use of strong colours and geometric shapes. His later works were more abstra ...

Sonia Delaunay Sonia Delaunay (13 November 1885 – 5 December 1979) was a French artist, who spent most of her working life in Paris. She was born in Odessa (then part of Russian Empire), and formally trained in Russian Empire and Germany before moving to Fr ...

, Patrick Henry Bruce and Arthur Burdett Frost were largely represented.Kubisme.info, Salon des Indépendants
/ref> Csaky exhibited ''Femme à l'éventail'', plaster n. 5092 under the number 813 of the catalog, along with two busts, executed in a highly Cubist facture. Several years later,

Marcel Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, , ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, and conceptual art. Duchamp is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Picasso ...

, speaking about his own experience during the revolutionary years in the history of art of the 20th century, presented Joseph Csaky as "belonging to a group of sculptors who, before 1914, imparted a new direction in their work. The theory of Cubism was then a trampoline that permitted the propulsion towards unexplored regions and Csaky, even if influenced by Cubism, developed his own concepts on the treatment of space. His first works appeared more theoretical and intellectual than his later works when he oriented his personal development towards atmospheric structures."Marcel Duchamp, 1958, ''Duchamp du signe, suivi de Notes'', Michel Sanouillet, Paul Matisse, Anne Sanouillet, Paul B. Franklin, Flammarion, 2008, (re-edition) , 9782080116642 Reviewing the 1914 Indépendants in an article entitled ''Le Salon'', published in the periodical ''Montparnasse'',

André Salmon André Salmon (4 October 1881, Paris – 12 March 1969, Sanary-sur-Mer) was a French poet, art critic and writer. He was one of the early defenders of Cubism, with Guillaume Apollinaire and Maurice Raynal. Biography André Salmon was born in ...

, who usually considered works the Indépendants 'true mediocrity of the pupils of ''l'art officiel, encouraged his readers to visit the year's salon to discover 'true modernity'. To justify his claim he reproduce a large photograph of Csaky's 1913 ''

Head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals ...

''.

Literature

* René Reichard, ''Joseph Csaky'', Frankfurt, 1988, n. 12, rep. p. 23. * Félix Marcilhac, ''József Csáky, Du cubisme historique à la figuration réaliste, catalogue raisonné des sculptures'', Les Editions de l'Amateur, Paris, 2007. rep. (1912-FM.12)

Notes and references

External links

Ministère de la Culture, France, La Médiathèque de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine, Base Memoire

Base Arcade, Culture.gouv.fr Csaky

Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, Holland, 23 works by Joseph Csaky

Agence Photographique de la Réunion des musées nationaux et du Grand Palais des Champs-Elysées
{{DEFAULTSORT:Danseuse Sculptures by Joseph Csaky 1912 sculptures Cubist sculptures Nude sculptures