The Eight (''A Nyolcak'' in

Hungarian language Hungarian, or Magyar (, ), is an Ugric language of the Uralic language family spoken in Hungary and parts of several neighboring countries. It is the official language of Hungary and one of the 24 official languages of the European Union. Out ...

) was an

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

art movement of Hungarian painters active mostly in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

from 1909 to 1918. They were connected to

Post-Impressionism Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction a ...

and radical movements in literature and music as well, and led to the rise of modernism in art culture. The members of The Eight, Róbert Berény, Dezső Czigány, Béla Czóbel,

Károly Kernstok Károly Kernstok (23 December 1873, in Budapest – 9 June 1940, in Budapest) was a Hungary, Hungarian painter. In the early twentieth century, he was known for being among the leading groups of Hungarian painters known as the "Neos" and The Ei ...

, Ödön Márffy, Dezső Orbán,

Bertalan Pór Bertalan Pór (4 November 1880 – 28 August 1964) was a Hungarian painter associated with the development of modernist Hungarian art. He was a member of The Eight, a movement among several Hungarian painters in the early twentieth century who ...

and Lajos Tihanyi, were primarily inspired by French painters and art movements including

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work introduced new modes of representation, influenced avant-garde artistic movements of the early 20th century a ...

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...

, and

Fauvism Fauvism ( ) is a style of painting and an art movement that emerged in France at the beginning of the 20th century. It was the style of (, ''the wild beasts''), a group of modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong col ...

. Exhibits were held in 2011 and 2012 in Hungary and Austria, respectively, to mark the centenary of the group's first exhibit as The Eight in Budapest in 1911.

Background

The Eight opened their first exhibition on 30 December 1909 at the Könyves Kálmán Salon (Budapest) under the title ''New Pictures.'' Their second exhibition, entitled ''The Eight,'' opened in April 1911 in the National Salon. While The Eight as a group had only three exhibitions, their activity was of immense significance, as their influence went far beyond the visual arts. The exhibitions were accompanied by series of symposia, and by events featuring new Hungarian literature and contemporary music. Márffy was proud of this intellectual kinship throughout his life. A year before his death, he said:

"It fills me with happiness to know that my youth coincided with that memorable period in intellectual development, when not only in Europe but also in Hungary, those seeking new, better things in literature, music, painting, science, politics and social life were carried by vibrant, seething currents. It can’t have been by chance that
Endre Ady Endre Ady (Hungarian: ''diósadi Ady András Endre,'' archaic English: Andrew Ady; 22 November 1877 – 27 January 1919) was a turn-of-the-century Hungarian poet and journalist. Regarded by many as the greatest Hungarian poet of the 20th centur ...
broke in with his new songs at the time when
Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hunga ...
came with his new chords, when progressive intellectuals gathered round reviews like "Nyugat" (Occident) and "XX. Század" (20th century), when 'Nyolcak' (the Eight), a group that sought new ways appeared (…)"

Exhibits

*''A Nyolcak (The Eight): A Centenary Exhibition,'' Janus Pannonius Museum Modern Hungarian Gallery,

Pécs Pécs ( , ; ; Slovak language, Slovak: ''Päťkostolie''; also known by #Name, alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the fifth largest city in Hungary, on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the c ...

, 10 December 2010 – 27 March 2011 * 2012, ''Lajos Tihanyi - A bohème painter in Budapest, Berlin and Paris'', 20 April - 20 August 2012, KOGART Haz, Budapest * 2012, ''The Eight. Hungary's Highway in the Modern'' (Die Acht. Ungarns Highway in die Moderne), 12 September 2012 – 2 December 2012, Bank Austria Kunstforum,

Wien Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, collaboration with Museum of Fine Arts and Magyar Nemzeti Galéria, Budapest. * 2013, ''Allegro Barbaro. Béla Bartók et la modernité hongroise (1905-1920).'' Paris, Musée d'Orsay, 15 October 2013. - 5 January 2014.

References

External links

"Wanted works"
''Art Magazin''
''A Nyolcak (The Eight): Commemorative exhibition,'' 2011, Budapest Museum of Fine Arts (virtual tour)

Vienna, Kunstforum: ''Die Acht. Ungarns Highway in die Moderne,'' 2012.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eight, The 8 (number) Modern art Hungarian art 20th-century Hungarian painters

Background

Exhibits

References

Further reading

External links