The Eight (Nyolcak)
Encyclopedia
The Eight was an avant-garde
art movement of Hungarian painters active mostly in Budapest
from 1909 to 1918.
The members of the Eight Róbert Berény
, Dezső Czigány, Béla Czóbel
, Károly Kernstok, Ödön Márffy
, Dezső Orbán
, Bertalan Pór
, Lajos Tihanyi were primarily inspired by Matisse and the fauvism
and Cézanne’s art.
They opened their first exhibition on December 30, 1909, at the Könyves Kálmán Salon (Budapest), under the title New Pictures. Their second exhibition – already 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, with an influence that went far beyond the visual arts. The exhibitions were accompanied by series of symposia, and by very fine events involving new Hungarian literature and contemporary music. With the hindsight of a century, we can say the greatest inventors of the various fields of Hungarian culture met in 1911.
Ödön 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
broke in with his new songs at the time when Béla Bartók
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 (…)”
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
art movement of Hungarian painters active mostly in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
from 1909 to 1918.
The members of the Eight Róbert Berény
Róbert Berény
Róbert Berény was a Hungarian painter, one of the avant-garde group known as The Eight who introduced cubism and expressionism to Hungarian art.-Early life and education:...
, Dezső Czigány, Béla Czóbel
Béla Czóbel
Béla Czóbel was a Hungarian painter.-Biography:He was a student of Béla Iványi-Grünwald in the Nagybánya free school. He was enrolled in the Académie Julian in Paris in 1903 as a pupil of Jean Paul Laurens. His style reflects the principles of the Nagybánya school...
, Károly Kernstok, Ödön Márffy
Ödön Márffy
Ödön Márffy was a Hungarian painter.-Biography:Following a short basic training, he managed to get a grant to study art in Paris from the autumn of 1902...
, Dezső Orbán
Desiderius Orban
Desiderius Orban OBE was a renowned Hungarian-born Australian painter, printmaker and teacher. He was influenced by the paintings of Henri Matisse, Vincent van Gogh and Paul Cézanne.-Biography:...
, Bertalan Pór
Bertalan Pór
Bertalan Pór was a twentieth-century Hungarian painter, associated with the development of Hungarian art. He was a member of The Eight, a movement among Hungarian artists in the early twentieth century. Others included Lajos Tihanyi,...
, Lajos Tihanyi were primarily inspired by Matisse and the fauvism
Fauvism
Fauvism is the style of les Fauves , a short-lived and loose group of early twentieth-century Modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong colour over the representational or realistic values retained by Impressionism...
and Cézanne’s art.
They opened their first exhibition on December 30, 1909, at the Könyves Kálmán Salon (Budapest), under the title New Pictures. Their second exhibition – already 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, with an influence that went far beyond the visual arts. The exhibitions were accompanied by series of symposia, and by very fine events involving new Hungarian literature and contemporary music. With the hindsight of a century, we can say the greatest inventors of the various fields of Hungarian culture met in 1911.
Ödön Márffy
Ödön Márffy
Ödön Márffy was a Hungarian painter.-Biography:Following a short basic training, he managed to get a grant to study art in Paris from the autumn of 1902...
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
Endre Ady was a Hungarian poet.-Biography:Ady was born in Érmindszent, Szilágy county . He belonged to an impoverished Calvinist noble family...
broke in with his new songs at the time when Béla Bartók
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
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 (…)”